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SAGACITY OF THE TITI.

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of a child; "there are the same expression of innocence, the same playful smile, the same rapidity in the transition from joy to sorrow. Its large eyes are instantly filled with tears, when it is seized with fear." It is extremely fond of insects; and Humboldt mentions a remarkable instance of its sagacity in distinguishing them in the plates annexed to one of Cuvier's works on Natural History. The engravings were not coloured; yet the titi sharply put out its little hand, in the hope of catching a grasshopper or a wasp, every time that the plate on which those insects were represented was shown to it. Engravings of skeletons or heads of mammiferous animals were regarded with the greatest indifference. "I shall observe, on this occasion," says Humboldt, "that I have never heard of a picture on which hares or deer were represented, of their natural size, and with the greatest perfection, having made the least impression, even on hunting-dogs of the most improved intelligence. Is there an example, well ascertained, of a dog recognising a full-length picture of its master? In all these cases, the sight is not assisted by the smell."

The viudita, or "young widow," as it has been called by the missionaries, forms a striking contrast with the titi, and other four-handed animals long known in Europe. The hair of this little animal is soft, glossy, and of a fine black; its face is covered with a square mask, of a whitish colour, tinged with blue, and this mask contains the eyes, nose, and mouth. "The ears have a rim; they are small, very pretty, and almost bare. The neck of the widow presents, in front, a white band an inch broad, and forming a semicircle. The feet, or rather the hinder hands, are black, like the rest of the body; but the fore hands are white on the outside, and of a

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THE WIDOW-MONKEY.

glossy black within. It is in these marks, or white spots, that the missionaries think they recognise the veil, the neckerchief, and the gloves of a widow in mourning. The character of this little monkey, which sits up on its hinder extremities only when eating, is very little indicated in its appearance. It has a wild and timid air; it often refuses the aliments that are offered to it, even when tormented by a ravenous appetite. It has little inclination for the society of other monkeys; the sight of the smallest saimiri (or titi) puts it to flight. Its eye denotes great vivacity. We have seen it remain whole hours motionless, without sleeping, and attentive to everything that was passing around. But this wildness and timidity are merely apparent. The viudita, alone, and left to itself, becomes furious at the sight of a bird. It then climbs and runs with astonishing rapidity; darts upon its prey like a cat, and kills whatever it can seize." Our traveller justly remarks that, in order to study the manners of animals, it is a great advantage to observe them during several months in the open air, and not in houses, where they lose all their natural vivacity.

CHAPTER XIV.

Departure from Pararuma-Mode of navigating the Orinoco -- Military conversion of the natives-Inundations of the river-Ancient floods -Rapids and cascades-Subterranean sounds-Memnonium-The Meta-The Stone of Patience-Sufferings from insects-Arrival at Panumana.

THE travellers set sail from Pararuma on the 10th of April, at ten in the morning. Their canoe was forty feet long and three broad: like all Indian boats, it was simply the trunk of a tree, hollowed out by the double

SAILING UP THE ORINOCO.

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aid of the hatchet and of fire. To gain something in breadth, a sort of lattice-work had been constructed on the after part of the boat, with branches of trees, reaching on each side beyond the gunwale; but the roof of leaves, the toldo, as it is called,-which covered this lattice-work, was so low that the inmate was obliged to lie down without seeing anything, or to sit double, if he preferred being seated. The necessity of carrying the canoe across the rapids, leading from one river to another, and the fear of giving too much hold to the wind, prevented them from having the toldo higher. This shed was intended for four persons; the legs reached far beyond it, and in a fall of rain half the body was wetted. The travellers reposed on ox-hides, or tiger-skins, thrown over branches of trees, which caused some painful sensations, through so thin a covering. Humboldt has depicted the manner of navigating on the Orinoco, in such a bark as this, in a very interesting manner. "The fore part of the boat," he says, was filled with Indian rowers, furnished with paddles three feet long, in the form of spoons. They were all naked, seated two by two, and rowed in cadence with surprising uniformity. Their songs were sad and monotonous. The small cages, containing our birds and our monkeys, the number of which augmented as we advanced, were hung, some to the toldo, and others to the bow of the boat. This was our travelling menagerie. Notwithstanding the frequent losses occasioned by accidents, and above all by the fatal effects of exposure to the sun, we had fourteen of these little animals alive at our return from the Cassiquiare. Naturalists who wish to collect and bring living animals to Europe, might cause boats to be constructed expressly for this purpose at Angostura, or at Grand Para, the two capitals, situate on the banks of

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168

THEIR PAINS AND TOILS.

the Orinoco and the Amazon; the first third of which boats might contain two rows of hutches, sheltered from the ardour of the sun. Every night, when we established our watch, the collection of animals, and our instruments, occupied the centre; around these were placed first our hammocks, then the hammocks of the Indians, and on the outside were the fires that are thought indispensable against the attacks of the jaguar. About sunrise the monkeys in our cages answered the cries of the monkeys of the forest. These communications between animals of the same species, sympathizing with one another, though unseen,-one party enjoying that liberty which the other regrets,-have in them something melancholy and affecting.

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'In a canoe not three feet wide, and so encumbered, there remained no other place for the dried plants, trunks, a sextant, a dipping-needle, and the meteorological instruments, than the space below the lattice-work of branches, on which we were compelled to remain stretched the greater part of the day. To take the least object out of a trunk, or to use an instrument, it was necessary to gain the shore, and disembark. To these inconveniences were joined the torment of the moschetoes, abounding under this low roof, and the heat radiated from the palm-leaves, which had their upper surface continually exposed to the sun's rays. We attempted every instant, and always without success, to amend our situation. While one of us laid himself under a sheet to ward off the insects, the other insisted on having green wood lighted beneath the toldo, in order to drive them away by the smoke. The painful sensations experienced by the eyes, and the increase of a temperature already stifling, rendered both of these endeavours alike impracticable. With some gaiety of

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temper, with dispositions of mutual benevolence, and with a vivid taste for the majestic nature of these great valleys or rivers, travellers easily support evils which be come habitual."

At a short distance above Pararuma, they passed, on the east, a mountain with a bare top, projecting in the form of a promontory. Its height was nearly 300 feet. It had served as a station for the Jesuits, who had constructed upon it a small fortress, furnished with three batteries of cannon, and constantly occupied by a military detachment. The fort had been destroyed since the dissolution of the society; but the place was still called El Castillo, or the Castle. The garrison which the Jesuits used to maintain on this rock, was not intended merely to protect the missionaries against the incursions of the Caribbees: it was employed in that peculiar kind of offensive warfare known in these parts by the name of conquesta de almas, "conquest of souls." The soldiers, excited by the hope of gain, used to make incursions into the lands of the independent Indians, killed all those who made any resistance, burnt their huts, destroyed the plantations, and carried away the old men, women, and children, as prisoners. The captives were divided among the missions of the Meta, the Rio Negro, and the Upper Orinoco, being sent to such a distance as prevented their return to their native district. This violent mode of "conquering souls" was prohibited by the Spanish laws; but the civil governors allowed it, and the Jesuit superiors boasted of it, as beneficial to religion and the aggrandisement of the missions. "The voice of the gospel," said one of them, "is heard only where the Indians have heard also the voice of arms. Mildness is a very slow measure; by chastising the natives we facilitate their conversion." Happily, however,

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