The Hunters' Feast Part 14

"If not successful in the chase he is brought to the verge of starvation, and must have recourse to roots and berries--a few species of which, such as the tuberous root `maca,' are found growing in these elevated regions. He is exposed, moreover, to the perils of the precipice, the creaking `soga' bridge, the slippery path, and the hoa.r.s.e rushing torrent--and these among the rugged Cordilleras of the Andes are no mean dangers. A life of toil, exposure, and peril is that of the vicuna hunter.

"During my travels in Peru I had resolved to enjoy the sport of hunting the vicuna. For this purpose I set out from one of the towns of the Lower Sierra, and climbed up the high region known as the `Puna,' or sometimes as the `Despoblado' (the uninhabited region).

"I reached at length the edge of a plain to which I had mounted by many a weary path--up many a dark ravine. I was twelve or fourteen thousand feet above sea level, and although I had just parted from the land of the palm-tree and the orange, I was now in a region cold and sterile.

Mountains were before and around me--some bleak and dark, others shining under a robe of snow, and still others of that greyish hue as if snow had freshly fallen upon them, but not enough to cover their stony surface. The plain before me was several miles in circ.u.mference. It was only part of a system of similar levels separated from each other by spurs of the mountains. By crossing a ridge another comes in view, a deep cleft leads you into a third, and so on.

"These table plains are too cold for the agriculturist. Only the cereal barley will grow there, and some of those hardy roots--the natives of an arctic zone. But they are covered with a sward of gra.s.s--the `ycha'

gra.s.s, the favourite food of the llamas--and this renders them serviceable to man. Herds of half-wild cattle may be seen, tended by their wilder-looking shepherds. Flocks of alpacas, female llamas with their young, and long-tailed Peruvian sheep, stray over them, and to some extent relieve their cheerless aspect. The giant vulture--the condor, wheels above all, or perches on the jutting rock. Here and there, in some sheltered nook, may be seen the dark mud hut of the `vaquero' (cattle herd), or the man himself, with his troop of savage curs following at his heels, and this is all the sign of habitation or inhabitant to be met with for hundreds of miles. This bleak land, up among the mountain tops of the Andes, as I have already said, is called the `Puna.'

"The Puna is the favourite haunt of the vicuna, and, of course, the home of the vicuna hunter. I had directions to find one of these hunters, and an introduction to him when found, and after spending the night at a shepherd's hut, I proceeded next morning in search of him--some ten miles farther into the mountains.

"I arrived at the house, or rather hovel, at an early hour.

Notwithstanding, my host had been abroad, and was just returned with full hands, having a large bundle of dead animals in each. They were chinchillas and viscachas, which he had taken out of his snares set overnight. He said that most of them had been freshly caught, as their favourite time of coming out of their dens to feed is just before daybreak.

"These two kinds of animals, which in many respects resemble our rabbits, also resemble each other in habits. They make their nests in crevices of the rocks, to which they retreat, when pursued, as rabbits to their burrows. Of course, they are snared in a very similar manner-- by setting the snares upon, their tracks, and at the entrances to their holes. One difference I noted. The Peruvian hunter used snares made of twisted horse-hair, instead of the spring wire employed by our gamekeepers and poachers. The chinchilla is a much more beautiful creature than the viscacha, and is a better-known animal, its soft and beautifully-marbled fur being an article of fashionable wear in the cities of Europe.

"As I approached his hut, the hunter had just arrived with the night's produce of his snares, and was hanging them up to the side of the building, skinning them one by one. Not less than half a score of small, foxy-looking dogs were around him--true native dogs of the country.

"Of the disposition of these creatures I was soon made aware. No sooner had they espied me, than with angry yelps the whole pack ran forward to meet me, and came barking and grinning close around the feet of my horse. Several of them sprang upward at my legs, and would, no doubt, have bitten them, had I not suddenly raised my feet up to the withers, and for some time held them in that position. I have no hesitation in saying that had I been afoot, I should have been badly torn by the curs; nor do I hesitate to say, that of all the dogs in the known world, these Peruvian mountain dogs are the most vicious and spiteful. They will bite even the friends of their own masters, and very often their masters themselves have to use the stick to keep them in subjection. I believe the dogs found among many tribes of your North-American Indians have a very similar disposition, though by no means to compare in fierceness and savage nature with their cousins of the cold Puna.

"The masters of these dogs are generally Indians, and it is a strange fact, that they are much more spiteful towards the whites than Indians.

It is difficult for a white man to get on friendly terms with them.

"After a good deal of kicking and cuffing, my host succeeded in making his kennel understand that I had not come there to be eaten up. I then alighted from my horse, and walked (I should say crawled) inside the hut.

"This was, as I have already stated, a mere hovel. A circular wall of mud and stone, about five feet high, supported a set of poles that served as rafters. These poles were the flower stalks of the great American aloe, or maguey-plant--the only thing resembling wood that grew near. Over these was laid a thick layer of Puna gra.s.s, which was tied with strong ropes of the same material, to keep it from flying off when the wind blew violently, which it there often does. A few blocks of stone in the middle of the floor const.i.tuted the fireplace, and the smoke got out the best way it could through a hole in the roof.

"The owner of this mansion was a true Indian, belonging to one of those tribes of the mountains that could not be said ever to have been conquered by the Spaniards. Living in remote districts, many of these people never submitted to the _repartimientos_, yet a sort of religious conquest was made of some of them by the missionaries, thus bringing them under the t.i.tle of `Indios mansos' (tame Indians), in contradistinction to the `Indios bravos,' or savage tribes, who remain unconquered and independent to this day.

"As already stated, I had come by appointment to share the day's hunt.

I was invited to partake of breakfast. My host, being a bachelor, was his own cook, and some parched maize and `macas,' with a roasted chinchilla, furnished the repast.

"Fortunately, I carried with me a flask of Catalan brandy; and this, with a cup of water from the icy mountain spring, rendered our meal more palatable I was not without some dry tobacco, and a husk to roll it in, so that we enjoyed our cigar; but what our hunter enjoyed still more was a `coceada,' for he was a regular chewer of `coca.' He carried his pouch of chinchilla skin filled with the dried leaves of the coca plant, and around his neck was suspended the gourd bottle, filled with burnt lime and ashes of the root of the `molle' tree.

"All things arranged, we started forth. It was to be a `still' hunt, and we went afoot, leaving our horses safely tied by the hut. The Indian took with him only one of his dogs--a faithful and trusty one, on which, he could rely.

"We skirted the plain, and struck into a defile in the mountains. It led upwards, among rocky boulders. A cold stream gurgled in its bottom, now and then leaping over low falls, and churned into foam. At times the path was a giddy one, leading along narrow ledges, rendered more perilous by the frozen snow, that lay to the depth of several inches.

Our object was to reach the level of a plain still higher, where my companion a.s.sured me we should be likely to happen upon a herd of vicunas.

"As we climbed among the rocks, my eye was attracted by a moving object, higher up. On looking more attentively, several animals were seen, of large size, and reddish-brown colour. I took them at first for deer, as I was thinking of that animal. I saw my mistake in a moment. They were not deer, but creatures quite as nimble. They were bounding from rock to rock, and running along the narrow ledges with the agility of the chamois. These must be the vicunas, thought I.

"`No,' said my companion; `guanacos--nothing more.'

"I was anxious to have a shot at them.

"`Better leave them now,' suggested the hunter; `the report would frighten the vicunas, if they be in the plain--it is near. I know these guanacos. I know where they will retreat to--a defile close by--we can have a chance at them on our return.'

"I forbore firing, though I certainly deemed the guanacos within shot, but the hunter was thinking of the more precious skin of the vicunas, and we pa.s.sed on. I saw the guanacos run for a dark-looking cleft between two mountain spurs.

"`We shall find them in there,' muttered my companion, `that is their haunt.'

"n.o.ble game are these guanacos--large fine animals--n.o.ble game as the red deer himself. They differ much from the vicunas. They herd only in small numbers, from six to ten or a dozen: while as many as four times this number of vicunas may be seen together. There are essential points of difference in the habits of the two species. The guanacos are dwellers among the rocks, and are most at home when bounding from cliff to cliff, and ledge to ledge. They make but a poor run upon the level gra.s.sy plain, and their singular contorted hoofs seem to be adapted for their favourite haunts. The vicunas, on the contrary, prefer the smooth turf of the table plains, over which they dart with the swiftness of the deer. Both are of the same family of quadrupeds, but with this very essential difference--the one is a dweller of the level plain, the other of the rocky declivity; and nature has adapted each to its respective _habitat_."

Here the narrator was interrupted by the hunter-naturalist, who stated that he had observed this curious fact in relation to other animals of a very different genus, and belonging to the _fauna_ of North America.

"The animals I speak of," said he, "are indigenous to the region of the Rocky Mountains, and well-known to our trapper friends here. They are the big horn (_Ovis montana_) and the p.r.o.ng-horned antelope (_A.

furcifer_). The big horn is usually denominated a sheep, though it possesses far more of the characteristics of the deer and antelope families. Like the chamois, it is a dweller among the rocky cliffs and declivities, and only there does it feel at home, and in the full enjoyment of its faculties for security. Place it upon a level plain, and you deprive it of confidence, and render its capture comparatively easy. At the base of these very cliffs on which the _Ovis montana_ disports itself, roams the p.r.o.ng-horn, not very dissimilar either in form, colour, or habits; and yet this creature, trusting to its heels for safety, feels at home and secure only on the wide open plain where it can see the horizon around it! Such is the difference in the mode of life of two species of animals almost cogenerie, and I am not surprised to hear you state that a somewhat like difference exists between the guanaco and vicuna."

The hunter-naturalist was again silent, and the narrator continued.

"A few more strides up the mountain pa.s.s brought us to the edge of the plain, where we expected to see the vicunas. We were not disappointed.

A herd was feeding upon it, though at a good distance off. A beautiful sight they were, quite equalling in grace and stateliness the lordly deer. In fact, they might have pa.s.sed for the latter to an unpractised eye, particularly at that season when deer are `in the red.' Indeed the vicuna is more deer-like than any other animal except the antelope--much more so than its congeners the llama, alpaca, or guanaco. Its form is slender, and its gait light and agile, while the long tapering neck and head add to the resemblance. The colour, however, is peculiarly its own, and any one accustomed to seeing the vicuna can distinguish the orange-red of its silky coat at a glance, and at a great distance. So peculiar is it, that in Peru the `_Colour de vicuna_' (vicuna colour) has become a specific name.

"My companion at once p.r.o.nounced the animals before us a herd of vicunas. There were about twenty in all, and all except one were quietly feeding on the gra.s.sy plain. This one stood apart, his long neck raised high in air, and his head occasionally turning from side to side, as though he was keeping watch for the rest. Such was in fact the duty he was performing; he was the leader of the herd--the patriarch, husband and father of the flock. All the others were ewes or young ones. So affirmed my companion.

"The vicuna is polygamous--fights for his harem with desperate fierceness, watches over its number while they feed or sleep, chooses the ground for browsing and rest--defends them against enemies--heads them in the advance, and covers their retreat with his own `person'-- such is the domestic economy of the vicuna.

"`Now, senor,' said the hunter, eyeing the herd, `if I could only kill him (he pointed to the leader) I would have no trouble with the rest. I should get every one of them.'

"`How?' I inquired.

"`Oh!--they would!--ha! The very thing I wished for!'

"`What?'

"`They are heading towards yonder rocks.' He pointed to a clump of rocky boulders that lay isolated near one side of the plain--`let us get there, comrade--_vamos_!'

"We stole cautiously round the edge of the mountain until the rocks lay between us and the game; and then crouched forward and took our position among them. We lay behind a jagged boulder, whose seamed outline looked as if it had been designed for loop-hole firing. It was just the cover we wanted.

"We peeped cautiously through the cracks of the rock. Already the vicunas were near, almost within range of our pieces. I held in my hands a double-barrel, loaded in both barrels with large-sized buck-shot; my companion's weapon was a long Spanish rifle.

"I received his instructions in a whisper. I was not to shoot until he had fired. Both were to aim at the leader. About this he was particular, and I promised obedience.

"The unconscious herd drew near. The leader, with the long white silky hair hanging from his breast, was in the advance, and upon him the eyes of both of us were fixed. I could observe his glistening orbs, and his att.i.tude of pride, as he turned at intervals to beckon his followers on.

"`I hope he has got the worms,' muttered my companion; `if he has, he'll come to rub his hide upon the rocks.'

"Some such intention was no doubt guiding the vicuna, for at that moment it stretched forth its neck, and trotted a few paces towards us. It suddenly halted. The wind was in our favour, else we should have been scented long ago. But we were suspected. The creature halted, threw up its head, struck the ground with its hoof, and uttered a strange cry, somewhat resembling the whistling of a deer. The echo of that cry was the ring of my companion's rifle, and I saw the vicuna leap up and fall dead upon the plain.

"I expected the others to break off in flight, and was about to fire at them though they were still at long range. My companion prevented me.

"`Hold!' he whispered, `you'll have a better chance--see there!--now, if you like, Senor!'

"To my surprise, the herd, instead of attempting to escape, came trotting up to where the leader lay, and commenced running around at intervals, stooping over the body, and uttering plaintive cries.

"It was a touching sight, but the hunter is without pity for what he deems his lawful game. In an instant I had pulled both triggers, and both barrels had sent forth their united and deadly showers.

"Deadly indeed--when the smoke blew aside, nearly half of the herd were seen lying quiet or kicking on the plain.

"The rest remained as before! another ring of the long rifle, and another fell--another double detonation of the heavy deer-gun, and several came to the ground; and so continued the alternate fire of bullets and shot, until the whole herd were strewn dead and dying upon the ground!