The Birmingham age-herald., 1914-05-03

la- .eset
 trails, they crowd the s.reets of the yj1- lases; and droves of them line the plazas of every city and town. They are. in fact. the freight trains of the high Andes. and they compete with the railroad They carry grain. vegetables. hides. alcohol. coca leaves and reeds Of every descrip- ton. Many Of them are used to transfer the ore from the mines to the shelters; and the farmers employ them to take their goods to the towns and railroads.
 The llamas pack the freight on their backs. the burden being tied on like a saddle. and not in panniers as upon donkeys. There is a current story that llama will carry just 1ov pounds and that II you put on one ounce more he will lie down and no whippins or beating can make him go on- This statement Is ridic- ulous. Tie llama, if overburdened, will surely lie down and refuse to move; but as to his having the inteili yence to know when the hundred pound load is reached, that is one of the ffctions of travelling Mrnchausens. Indeed, there are very few llainas that will carry as much as a hun dred pounds. The animals are of different strengths. and the average load is about 75 or 80 pounds. although there are some beasts that will carry 120. A matter of pound or so makes no difference. and it is only when the animal feels that he ilds iiilcn more than ms strength Will support that he refuses to go.
 The llamas are of different sizes ac- cording to their ages ana the care that has been taken of them. When full grown their heads reach height of six feet or more, but they have long necks. and they hold these straight up. which makes them look taller. They have long ears that stand up like those of fox terrier. They have full. round bodies, like that of a sheep. and comparatively long legs. They look. in short. like miniature camels and I am told that they have the same power as the camel for going for several days without food or water. Many of the farms are long distances from the towns or railroads, and q llama has often to make journey of four or five days or week in carrying his load to and from home. During rhis time he eats practically nothing, ana gets along with out water. This seems incredible, but l am told 1t Is true. Ike llama wool is coarse. and it has no value in commerce. It is used by the Indians to spin thread and make cloth. The meat is also too coarse for the markets.
 The alpacas are much smaller than the llamas and in some respects more beautiful They are a great deal more delicate, and are not used as beasts of burden. although there are crosses be- tween the alpaca and the llama which act as freight carriers They are usually to be seen in the Hams trains and are often of a brownish yellow color. The all
 racas one sees on the pastures. and there are millions of them the high Andes, are white. black or brown. Sometimes they are spotted. They do not thrive any where below a mile above sea, and they are mostly found at height of two miles or more. They nave a fine long wool that brings or cents more pound than sheen's wool They are kept for their wool, being clipped every two years. when the fleece of the ordinary animal should weigh five pounds. If the shear ing is done sooner the wool is short and It brings very much less
 have seen some vicunas during my trip through the Andes. They are the wild half-sisters and brothers of the llamas and alpacas and are smaller than either. They connot be domesticated. but they will sometimes come down from the mountains and mix with the flocks of llamas alpacas and sheep on the plains. They are often shot bv the Indians and Cholos, although this is against the law.
 The vicuna wool is finer than that of the alpaca. and it brings a high price There is so little of it. however that it is hard ly worth mention. Much of the vicuna cloth so-called being made of alpaca wool. The vicunas are yellow in color. anu thei Wooi! Iur IS aS sOIt as that or seal. For this reason their skins are used to make the rugs so highly prized by the tourists. These rugs vary in value according to the part of the an- ipal from which the pieces of skin come. Al rug made from the necks or legs is much more valuable than one from pieces taken from the rest of the body. During my visit to South America 15 years ago ] bought beautiful rag in La Paz Bol- ivia. for about s20 in gold. I am told that similar ones now cost $50 and upward.