The farmer and mechanic. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 18??-19??, 1914-12-29

lncss and there ar. none lie t.s~lr
descendants Sa~sss. They has. gL~sr
own customs and uadsti.ssx aud foss
lore ready Tor IN. se.sats<s 81 the
Future ] might All "a page Of thts
ae"-rar"r Win stories If strange
s1p~r~fflcEs- | could tell you az the
gods ard devils Z IN. high Andes anu
OF fairies and wttch@N Lat night
learned ho~ the aynSra believe that
uat a-sh and blood Of \ certain lizard
Wis give one perpetual youth. II
@ds cur~ all sorts % disease aud
even mend broken bones A. the
story goes. tie Indian Kills the liza
and wraps IL round the g-wrfur. Ar.
the break becomes a~ll. III t. Also
good Tor stomach troual. ard Ia.
Nife Of an American miner tell me-
now she wAs cured ~ using IL The
lizards came from an old indian. who
prescribed the raw flesh chopped Up
WIN the blood n L. This wa 70 -
arn:k with the addition of = ii,tl.
cnicha. the common beer og tho
country. My lady friend tells me II
cured her dyspepsia.
'hicha IS the common beer or the
andes and the best II mad, hy chew
ing up grains OF corn IL the mouth.
The alive have chicha partI~s
where the ,oung girls come rag.,n.,
ana st down IN a cirei.. In the
center Is a basin Of wood A. soon
as they are seated they begin chew
ing the uncooked grains Of a certain
KIND or Indian corn. They mastscat-
TINS until Il IS reduced 10 q pulp and
: saturated with saliva. when they
spit the cud out into 4 basin. At tn.
end Of the party there X "A great bowl
or tue mixture. 1t Is left 10 ferrnen,.
and with the addition Of water s,os.
terns 10 an excellent beer. II may
be that this beer, rather than the
lizards, cured my friends stomach.
The fauna of the high andas i in
terestinG and the domestic animals
are especially SO. / never grow tired
Oh studying the llamas. alpacas. vi
: cunas and g~uanacuas- They all be
, long to one family whose home Is the
: hish Andes. The hama is the beas,
, or burden. Ii Is umhered By mil
lions and it carries the most Of tn.
freight OF the highlands. The alpaca
Z Is of the same shape. only smaller. II.
I Wool i among the finest. ~softest and
Sllkiest known 10 the world. Alpaca.
f are kept in great fiocks. watched b,
shepherds and cared for as We car.
e for sheep. They are clipped once I,
two years, when each should yiei,
II about five pounds OF long wool. TIL.
animals are quiet and easily handled
=. The vicuna looks not unlike az
alpaca, except that il, is smaller an.
more delicately formed. In habits /
= Is more like a deer than a sheen. an,
Is its flesh tastes like yenison. 1t can
1t not be domeStiCated. although il vii
g sometimes come down from tn
mountains and Craze with n
alpacas. Ii IS often killed for It's WOO
y and skins. The wool is golden yellow
~ IT is finer than that of the alpac.. an.
h SO soft and firm that clothing mad
of it is practically waterproof. TIL
supply is limited, and at the presen
" time it brings $2.50 2 pound. where
W as the common alpaca wool sells Ia
less than % cents per pound an
3 llama wool and Sleeps WOO are muc
- lower.
or Nicuna skin rugs when well tanna
10 with the fur or are like silk blush
at and they bring from $40 to $40
- apiece.
no There are millions of sheep on ~
nigh Andes, but they are poorly Ike,
and have been ruined by inbreedin
The native sheep does not prOd1e
more thar a pound and a half or ~
re pounds to the fleece, and some farm
., ers shear their sheep only once
40 two years.
no FRANK G.. CARPENTER
rs