Full of animal life as are the forests of South America, the number of
species of what are generally called wild beasts is remarkably small.
Four only are capable of attacking man--the jaguar, the puma, the great
ant-eater, and the savage little peccary, with its lancet-like tusks.
The first only is universally dreaded; the puma flies when bravely
confronted; the great ant-eater is not dangerous, except to those who
get within its reach; and the peccary is dreaded chiefly when hunting in
a pack, as it does, like the wolf. The burly tapir, the largest animal
of the continent--though a hippopotamus would look at it with contempt--
is perfectly harmless; and, with the exception of a few species of
tiger-cats, nearly all the other Mammalia are rodents, or belong to the
order Quadrumana. The latter are by far the most numerous inhabitants
of its wide-extending forests. It is especially the country of monkeys,
where they have arrived at their highest development. Several of the
species are not only furnished with four hands, but they have tails
which serve them, to all intents and purposes, as a fifth hand. They
can hang by them, or insert them into a hole and pick out a bird's egg,
or a minute insect, with the greatest ease. They are generally, with
the exception of the howlers, amicably disposed, easily tamed, with
beautiful coats of fur, and, if not exactly elegant in their forms, very
agile, and generally attractive, interesting little creatures.
The serpents and insects are far more dreaded and annoying than the wild
beasts. Many of the former are fearfully venomous. The boa
occasionally finds a human being in the forest, sick or wounded, and
unable to fly, and winds its huge coils round his body. The anaconda is
equally dangerous to those sleeping near the river's edge; while the
cunning and savage alligator lies in wait for the unwary bather or
drawer of water who ventures into the stream; and termites and ants
devour the stores of the inhabitants, and, in certain localities,
well-nigh sting them to madness.