smooth and dry, and they could sleep well enough upon it. They would
not be troubled with the bats, as these creatures keep mostly in the
dark shadowy places of the forest; and snakes would not likely be found
out on the bare ground. They thought they would there be safer from
jaguars, too. In fact, it was from these considerations that they had
chosen the place for their camp. They could go to the woods for an
armful or two of sticks to cook supper with, and that would suffice.
The balza was brought close in on the upper side of the promontory, so
as to be out of the current; and then all landed and made their
preparations for passing the night. Guapo marched off with his axe to
get some firewood, and Leon accompanied him to assist in carrying it.
They had not far to go--only a hundred yards or so, for up at the end of
the promontory the forest began, and there were both large trees and
underwood.
As they walked forward one species of trees caught their attention.
They were palm-trees, but of a sort they had not yet met with. They
were very tall, with a thick, globe-shaped head of pinnate, plume-like
leaves. But what rendered these trees peculiar was the stem. It was
slender in proportion to the height of the tree, and was thickly covered
with long needle-shaped spines, not growing irregularly, but set in
bands, or rings, around the tree. This new palm was the "pupunha," or
"peach-palm," as it is called, from the resemblance which its fruits
bear to peaches. It is also named "pirijao" in other parts of South
America, and it belongs to the genus "_Gullielma_."
At the tops of these trees, under the great globe of leaves, Guapo and
Leon perceived the nuts. They were hanging in clusters, as grapes grow;
but the fruits were as large as apricots, of an oval, triangular shape,
and of a beautiful reddish yellow colour. That they were delicious
eating, either roasted or boiled, Guapo well knew; and he was determined
that some of them should be served at supper. But how were they to be
reached? No man could climb such a tree as they grew upon! The needles
would have torn the flesh from any one who should have attempted it.
Guapo knew this. He knew, moreover, that the Indians, who are very fond
of the fruit of this tree,--so much so that they plant large _palmares_
of it around their villages--have a way of climbing it to get at the
ripe clusters. They tie cross pieces of wood from one tree to the
other, and thus make a sort of step-ladder, by which they ascend to the
fruit. It is true, they might easily cut down the trees, as the trunks
are not very thick; but that would be killing the goose that gave the
golden eggs. Guapo, however, had no farther interest in this wild
orchard than to make it serve his turn for that one night; so, laying
his axe to one of the "pupunhas," he soon levelled its majestic stem to
the ground. Nothing more remained than to lop off the clusters, any one
of which was as much as Leon could lift from the ground. Guapo found
the wood hard enough even in its green state, but when old it becomes
black, and is then so hard that it will turn the edge of an axe. There
is, perhaps, no wood in all South America harder than that of the
pirijao palm.
It is with the needle-like spines of this species that many tribes of
Indians puncture their skins in tattooing themselves, and other uses are
made by them of different parts of this noble tree. The macaws,
parrots, and other fruit-eating birds, are fonder of the nuts of the
pupunha than perhaps any other species; and so, too, would be the
fruit-eating quadrupeds if they could get at them. But the thorny trunk
renders them quite inaccessible to all creatures without wings,
excepting man himself. No; there is one other exception, and that is a
creature closely allied to man, I mean the _monkey_. Notwithstanding
the thorny stem, which even man cannot scale without a contrivance;
notwithstanding the apparently inaccessible clusters--inaccessible from
their great height--there is a species of monkey that manages now and
then to get a meal of them. How do these monkeys manage it? Not by
climbing the stem, for the thorns are too sharp even for them. How
then? Do the nuts fall to the ground and allow the monkeys to gather
them? No. This is not the case. How then? We shall see!
Guapo and Leon had returned to the camp, taking with them the pupunha
fruit and the firewood. A fire was kindled, the cooking-pot hung over
it on a tripod, and they all sat around to wait for its boiling.
While thus seated, an unusual noise reached their ears coming from the
woods. There were parrots and macaws among the palms making noise
enough, and fluttering about, but it was not these. The noise that had
arrested the attention of our travellers was a mixture of screaming, and
chattering, and howling, and barking, as if there were fifty sorts of
creatures at the making of it. The bushes, too, were heard "switching
about," and now and then a dead branch would crack, as if snapped
suddenly. To a stranger in these woods such a blending of sounds would
have appeared very mysterious and inexplicable. Not so to our party.
They knew it was only a troop of monkeys passing along upon one of their
journeys. From their peculiar cries, Guapo knew what kind of monkeys
they were.
"_Marimondas_," he said.
The marimondas are not true "howlers," although they are of the same
tribe as the "howling monkeys" (_Stentor_). They belong to the genus
_Ateles_, so called because they want the thumb, and are therefore
_imperfect_ or _unfinished_ as regards the hands. But what the ateles
want in hands is supplied by another member--the tail, and this they
have to all perfection. It is to them a fifth hand, and apparently more
useful than the other four. It assists them very materially in
travelling through the tree-tops. They use it to bring objects nearer
them. They use it to suspend themselves in a state of repose, and thus
suspended, they sleep--nay more, thus suspended, they often die! Of all
the monkey tribe the ateles are those that have most prehensile power in
their tails.
There are several species of them known--the coaita, the white-faced,
the black cayou, the beelzebub, the chamek, the black-handed, and the
marimonda. The habits of all are very similar, though the species
differ in size and colour.
The marimonda is one of the largest of South American monkeys, being
about three feet standing upon its hind-legs, with a tail of immense
length, thick and strong near the root, and tapering to a point. On its
under side, for the last foot or so from the end, there is no hair, but
a callous skin, and this is the part used for holding on to the
branches. The marimonda is far from being a handsome monkey. Its long,
thin arms and thumb-less hands give it an attenuated appearance, which
is not relieved by the immense disproportioned tail. It is reddish, or
of a parched coffee colour, on the upper part of the body, which becomes
blanched on the throat, belly, and insides of the thighs. Its colour,
in fact, is somewhat of the hue of the half-blood Indian and Negro,--
hence the marimonda is known in some parts of Spanish America by the
name of "mono zambo," or "zambo" monkey--a "zambo" being the descendant
of Indian and Negro parents.
The noise made by the marimondas which had been heard by our party
seemed to proceed from the bank of the river, some distance above the
promontory; but it was evidently growing louder every minute, and they
judged that the monkeys were approaching.
In a few minutes they appeared in sight, passing along the upper part of
a grove of trees that stood close to the water. Our travellers had now
an excellent view of them, and they sat watching them with interest.
Their mode of progression was extremely curious. They never came to the
ground, but where the branches interlocked they ran from one to the
other with the lightning speed of squirrels, or, indeed, like birds upon
the wing. Sometimes, however, the boughs stood far apart. Then the
marimonda, running out as far as the branch would bear him, would warp a
few inches of his tail around it and spring off into the air. In the
spring he would give himself such an impetus as would cause the branch
to revolve, and his body following this circular motion, with the long
thin arms thrown out in front, he would grasp the first branch that he
could reach. This, of course, would land him on a new tree, and over
that he would soon spring to the next.
Among the troop several females were perceived with their young. The
latter were carried on the backs of the mothers, where they held on by
means of their own little tails, feeling perfectly secure. Sometimes
the mothers would dismount them, and cause them to swing themselves from
branch to branch, going before to show them the way. This was witnessed
repeatedly. In other places, where the intervening space was too wide
for the females with their young to pass over, the males could be seen
bending down a branch of the opposite tree, so as to bring it nearer,
and assist them in crossing. All these movements were performed amidst
a constant gabble of conversation, and shouting, and chattering, and the
noise of branches springing back to their places.
The grove through which the troop was passing ended just by the edge of
the promontory. The palm-trees succeeded, with some trees of large size
that grew over them.
The marimondas at length reached the margin of the grove, and then they
were all seen to stop, most of them throwing themselves, heads down, and
hanging only by their tails. This is the position in which they find
themselves best prepared for any immediate action; and it is into this
attitude they throw themselves when suddenly alarmed. They remained so
for some minutes; and from the chattering carried on among them, it was
evident that they were engaged in deliberation. A loud and general
scream proclaimed the result; and all of them, at one and the same
instant, dropped down to the ground, and were seen crossing over among
the palm-trees.
They had to pass over a piece of open ground with only some weeds upon
it; but their helplessness on the ground was at once apparent. They
could not place their palms on the surface, but doubled them up and
walked, as it were, on the backs of their hands in the most awkward
manner. Every now and again, they flung out their great tails, in hopes
of grasping something that would help them along; and even a large weed
was a welcome support to them. On the ground they were evidently "out
of their element." In fact, the _ateles_ rarely descend from the trees,
which are their natural _habitat_.
At length they reached the palms; and, seated in various attitudes,
looked up at the tempting fruit, all the while chattering away. How
were they to reach it? Not a tree that was not covered with long
needles--not a bunch of the luscious fruit that was not far above the
height of the tallest marimonda! How were they to get at it?--that was
the question. It might have been a puzzling question to so many boys--
to the monkeys it was not; for in less than a score of seconds they had
settled it in their minds how the pupunhas were to be plucked.
Rising high over the palms grew a large tree, with long out-reaching
branches. It was the "zamang" tree--a species of _mimosa_, and one of
the most beautiful trees of South America. Its trunk rose full seventy
feet without a branch; and then it spread out in every direction in
numerous horizontal limbs, that forked and forked again until they
became slender boughs. Those branches were clad with the delicate
pinnate leaves that characterise the family of the mimosas.
Many of the pupunha palms grew under the shadow of this zamang, but not
the tallest ones. These were farther out. There were some, however,
whose tufted crowns reached within a few yards of the lower limbs of the
mimosa.
The monkeys, after a short consultation, were seen scampering up the
zamang. Only some of the old and strong ones went--the rest remained
watching below.
From the earnestness of their looks it was evident they felt a lively
interest in the result. So, too, did the party of travellers; for these
watched so closely, that the pot was in danger of boiling over.
The marimondas, having climbed the trunk, ran out upon the lowermost
limbs, until they were directly above the palms. Then one or two were
seen to drop off, and hang down by their tails. But, although, with
their fore-arms at full stretch, they hung nearly five feet from the
branch, they could not even touch the highest fronds of the palms, much
less the fruit-clusters that were ten or twelve feet farther down. They
made repeated attempts; suspending themselves over the very tallest
palms, but all to no purpose.
One would have supposed they would have given it up as a bad job. So
thought Dona Isidora, Leon, and the little Leona. Don Pablo knew better
by his reading, and Guapo by his experience. Whey they saw that no one
of them could reach the nuts, several were seen to get together on one
of the branches. After a moment one dropped down head-foremost as
before, and hung at his full length. Another ran down the body of this
one, and taking a turn of his tail round his neck and fore-arm, skipped
off and also hung head downwards. A third joined himself on to the
second in a similar manner, and then a fourth. The fore-arms of the
fourth rested upon the fruit-cluster of the pupunha!
The chain was now long enough for the purpose. In a few minutes the
last monkey on the chain, with his teeth and hands, had separated the
foot-stalk of the spathes, and the great clusters--two of them there
were--fell heavily to the bottom of the tree. The marimondas on the
ground ran forward; and, in the midst of loud rejoicings, began to pull
off the "peaches" and devour them. But the monkeys above did not cease
their labours. There were many mouths to feed, and they wanted more
nuts. Without changing their position, they, by means of their arms and
legs, threw themselves into a vibrating motion, and by this means the
last on the string soon seized upon another pupunha, and also detached
its fruit. In this way they continued, until they had stripped every
tree within their reach; when, judging they had got enough, the
lowermost monkey _climbed back upon himself_, then up his companions to
the branch, and in the same style was followed by the other three in
succession. As soon as they were clear of one another, the whole party
tame down by the trunk to the ground, and joined their comrades below in
the luxurious repast.
CHAPTER THIRTY SIX.
THE MONKEY MOTHER.
Now you will, perhaps, imagine that Guapo, having sat so quiet during
all this scene, had no desire for a bit of roast-monkey to supper. In
that fancy, then, you would be quite astray from the truth. Guapo had a
_strong_ desire to eat roast marimonda that very night; and, had he not
been held back by Don Pablo, he would never have allowed the monkeys to
get quietly out of the zamang--for it being an isolated tree, it would
have afforded him a capital opportunity of "treeing" them. His blow-gun
had been causing his fingers to itch all the time; and as soon as Don
Pablo and the rest were satisfied with observing the monkeys, Guapo set
out, blow-gun in hand, followed by Leon.
There was no cover by which he might approach the group; and, therefore,
no course was left for him but to run up as quickly forward as possible
and take his chance of getting a shot as they made off.
This course he pursued; but, before he was within anything like fair
range, the monkeys, uttering their shrill screams, scampered over the
open ground, much faster than before, and took to the grove, from which
they had approached the spot.
Guapo followed at a slashing pace, and was soon under the trees, Leon at
his heels. Here they were met by a shower of sticks, pieces of bark,
half-eaten "peaches," and something that was far less pleasant to their
olfactory nerves! All these came from the tops of the trees--the very
tallest ones--to which the monkeys had retreated, and where they were
now hidden among the llianas and leaves.
You may fancy that it is easy to pursue a troop of monkeys in a forest.
But it is not easy--in most cases it is not _possible_. The tangled
underwood below puts a stop to the chase at once, as the monkeys can
make their way through the branches above much quicker than the hunter
can through the creeping plants below.
The pursuit would have been all up with Guapo, for the marimondas had
soon got some way beyond the edge of the grove; but just as he was
turning to sulk back, his keen Indian eye caught sight of one that was
far behind the rest--so far, indeed, that it seemed determined to seek
its safety rather by hiding than by flight. It had got under cover of a
bunch of leaves, and there it lay quiet, uttering neither sound nor
syllable. Guapo could just see a little bit of its side, and at this in
an instant the gravatana was pointed. Guapo's chest and cheeks were
seen to swell out to their fullest extent, and off went the arrow. A
shriek followed--the monkey was hit--beyond a doubt. Guapo coolly
waited the result.
A movement was visible among the leaves; the marimonda was seen to turn
and double about, and pluck something from its side; and then the broken
arrow came glancing among the twigs, and fell to the ground. The monkey
was now perceived to be twisting and writhing upon the branches, and its
wild death-scream was answered by the voices of the others farther off.
At length its body was seen more distinctly; it no longer thought of
concealment; but lay out along the limb; and the next moment it dropped
off. It did not fall to the ground, though. It had no design of
gratifying its cruel destroyer to that extent. No; it merely dropped to
the end of its tail, which, lapped over the branch, held it suspended.
A few convulsive vibrations followed, and it hung down dead!
Guapo was thinking in what way he might get it down, for he knew that,
unless he could reach it by some means, it would hang there until the
weather rotted it off, or until some preying bird or the tree-ants had
eaten it. He thought of his axe--the tree was not a very thick one, and
it was a soft-wood tree. It would be worth the labour of cutting it
down.
He was about turning away to get the axe, when his eye was attracted by
the motion of some object near the monkey.
"Another!" he muttered, and, sure enough, another,--a little tiny
creature,--ran out from among the leaves, and climbing down the tail and
body of the one already shot, threw its arms around her neck and whined
piteously. It was the young one--Guapo had shot the mother!
The sight filled Leon with pity and grief; but Guapo knew nothing of
these sentiments. He had already inserted another arrow into his
gravatana, and was raising the tube to bend it, when, all at once, there
was a loud rustling among the leaves above--a large marimonda that had
returned from the band was seen springing out upon the branch--he was
the husband and father!
He did not pause a moment. Instinct or quick perception taught him that
the female was dead: his object was to save the young one.
He threw his long tail down, and grasping the little creature in its
firm hold, jerked it upward; and then, mounting it on his back, bore it
off among the branches!
All this passed so quickly, that Guapo had not time to deliver his
second arrow. Guapo saw them no more.
The Indian, however, was not to be cheated out of his supper of
roast-monkey. He walked quietly back for his axe; and bringing it up,
soon felled the tree, and took the marimonda mother with him to the
camp.
His next affair was to skin it, which he did by stripping the pelt from
the head, arms, legs, and all; so that, after being skinned, the
creature bore a most hideous resemblance to a child!
The process of cooking came next, and this Guapo made more tedious than
it might have been, as he was resolved to dress the marimonda after the
manner practised by the Indians, and which by them is esteemed the best.
He first built a little stage out of split laths of the pupunha palm.
For this a hard wood that will resist fire a long time is necessary, and
the pupunha was just the thing. Under this stage Guapo kindled a fire
of dry wood, and upon the laths he placed his monkey in a sitting
posture, with its arms crossed in front, and its head resting upon them.
The fire was then blown upon, until it became a bright blaze, which
completely enveloped the half upright form of the monkey. There was
plenty of smoke; but this is nothing in the eyes of a South American
Indian, many of whom prefer the "smoky flavour" in a roast monkey.
Guapo had now no more to do, but wait patiently until the body should be
reduced to a black and charred mass, for this is the condition in which
it is eaten by these strange people. When thus cooked, the flesh
becomes so dry that it will keep for months without spoiling.
The white people who live in the _monkey countries_ eat roast monkey as
well as the Indians. Many of them, in fact, grow very fond of it. They
usually dress it, however, in a different manner. They take off the
head and hands before bringing it to the table; so that the "child-like"
appearance is less perceptible.
Some species of monkeys are more delicate food than others, and there
are some kinds that _white_ monkey-eaters will not touch.
As for the Indians, it seems with them to be "all fish," etcetera; and
they devour all kinds indifferently, whether they be "howlers," or
"ateles," or "capuchins," or "ouistitis," or "sajous," or "sakis," or
whatever sort. In fact, among many Indian tribes, monkey stands in the
same place that mutton does in England; and they consider it their
staple article of flesh-meat. Indeed, in these parts, no other animal
is so common as the monkey; and, with the exception of birds and fish,
they have little chance of getting any other species of animal food.
The best "Southdown" would, perhaps, be as distasteful to them as monkey
meat would be to you; so here again we are met by that same eternal
proverb,--"_Chacun a son gout_."
CHAPTER THIRTY SEVEN.
AN UNEXPECTED GUEST.
Guapo sat by the fire patiently awaiting the "doing" of the marimonda.
The rest had eaten their supper, and were seated some distance apart.
They were looking out upon the broad river, and watching the movements
of the various birds. They could see tall scarlet flamingoes on the
farther shore, and smaller birds of the ibis kind. They could see the
"tiger crane," so called from its colour and spots resembling the
markings of the jaguar. Among some tall canes on the banks the
"ciganos," or gipsy birds, fluttered about with their great crest,
looking like so many pheasants, but far inferior to these creatures in
their flesh. In fact, the flesh of the "cigano" is so bitter and
disagreeable that even _Indians will not eat it_. Sitting upon a naked
branch that projected over the water they noticed the solitary sky-blue
king-fisher (_Alcedon_). Over the water swept the great harpy eagle--
also a fisher like his whiteheaded cousin of the North; and now and then
flocks of muscovy ducks made the air resound with their strong broad
wings.
They saw also the "boat-bill," or "crab-eater" (_Cancroma_), a curious
wading bird of the heron kind, with a large bill shaped like two boats
laid with their concave sides against each other. This, like the
kingfisher, sat solitarily upon a projecting stump, now and then dashing
into the shallow water, and scooping up the small fishes, frogs, and
Crustacea with its huge mandibles.