eir original dread of wild animals and noxious
reptiles and insects; and as for Indians and Spaniards--well, they
believed they could always circumvent either or both of them; while, so
far as the length of the journey was concerned, what was four months, if
there was a fortune to be gained at the end of it? So with light hearts
they pressed forward day after day, always following the river, until at
length they were obliged, first to abandon their boat in consequence of
the increasing number of rapids and falls, and take to a light canoe
instead, which they were easily able to transport overland when
necessary; and finally they reached a point where the river was no
longer navigable, even for a canoe, and they were obliged to take to the
forest.

But although they could no longer travel by water they still clung
closely to the river, as it was their only source of supply of drinking
water; moreover, it happened to lead pretty nearly in the direction of
their route. They were now proceeding up a valley, hemmed in on either
side by mountains ranging in height from ten thousand to fifteen
thousand feet, yet so dense was the forest through which they were
travelling that they seldom caught a glimpse of them, except in one
particular instance where they frequently sighted a majestic,
snow-capped peak right ahead of them when they encamped in a clearing
close to the river.

At length a day came when the noble river, upon the broad bosom of which
they had journeyed for so many days, dwindled to a tiny brook brawling
over a rocky bed, across which they could leap, the forest grew thin and
stunted, degenerated to a few scattered scrub oaks, and finally ceased
altogether, and they found themselves confronted by a mountain barrier,
the bare rocks of which were interspersed with patches of grass, upon
some of which were grazing small flocks of most extraordinary animals,
such as they had never seen before, but with which Vilcamapata was
evidently quite familiar. There were three distinct species of them,
although they all bore a striking resemblance to each other, being about
the size of donkeys, but having long necks, heads somewhat like those of
sheep, and legs and feet resembling those of camels. Vilcamapata
informed the Englishmen that these animals were known respectively as
alpacas, llamas, and vicunas, and that the first were used by his
countrymen for food, while their wool was woven into garments; the
second were us