The Peruvians had, likewise, made considerable advances in manufactures and the arts which may be called elegant. They made cloth, and they could refine silver and gold. They manufactured earthen ware; and they had some curious instruments formed of copper, which had been made so hard as to answer the purposes of iron. This metal they had not discovered. If they had only understood the working of iron and steel as well as they did that of gold and silver, they would have been a much richer and more civilized people. The Peruvians had tamed the duck and the llama, and rendered them domestic animals. The llama is somewhat larger than the sheep, and in appearance resembles a camel. The Indians manufactured its wool into cloth; its flesh they used for food; moreover, the animal was employed as a beast of burden, and would carry a moderate load with much patience and docility. The aid of domestic animals is essential to the improvement and civilization of human society. In short, the Peruvians, when contrasted with the naked, indolent, and ignorant inhabitants of the West Indian Islands, seem to have been a comfortable, ingenious, and respectable nation. The conquest of their country destroyed their system of government. They were made not merely to pay tribute to their new rulers, but, far worse, they were reduced to the condition of slaves. They were compelled to leave the pleasant fields they used to cultivate, and driven in crowds to the mountains in search of gold. They were forced to labor hard, and allowed only a scanty subsistence; till, heart-broken and despairing of any change for the better, they sunk under their calamities and died! [Illustration: _An Indian girl feeding a duck. Llama carrying a burden on its back._] In a few years after Pizarro entered Cuzco, a great part of the ancient population of Peru had been swept away, destroyed by the avarice and cruelty of their conquerors. The Alligator. I am not about to recommend this creature to you on account of his beauty or amiable qualities. He has, in fact, too large a mouth, and too long a tail, to be handsome, and his reputation is not of the pleasantest kind. However, it is interesting to hear about all the works of nature, and as this is one of the most wonderful, I shall proceed to describe it. Alligators live in warm climates, and spend the greater part of their time in the water. There are four or five kinds in America, but the most dangerous are found along the banks of the river Mississippi. These creatures are sometimes fifteen or even twenty feet in length; their mouths are two or three feet long and fourteen or fifteen inches wide. Their teeth are strong and sharp, and their claws are also very strong.