246 THE LOWER AMAZONS. Chap. VI. 



human-like in its appearance, as the lean, dark, shaggy 

 creature moved deliberately amongst the branches at a 

 great height. I fired, but unfortunately only wounded 

 it in the belly. It fell with a crash headlong about 

 twenty or thirty feet, and then caught a bough with 

 its tail, which grasped it instantaneously, and then the 

 animal remained suspended in mid-air. Before I could 

 reload it recovered itself, and mounted nimbly to the 

 topmost branches out of the reach of a fowling-piece, 

 where we could perceive the poor thing apparently 

 probing the wound with its fingers. Coaitas are more 

 frequently kept in a tame state than any other kind of 

 monkey. The Indians are very fond of them as pets, 

 and the women often suckle them when young at their 

 breasts. They become attached to their masters, and 

 will sometimes follow them on the ground to consider- 

 able distances. I once saw a most ridiculously tame 

 Coaita. It was an old female, which accompanied its 

 owner, a trader on the river, in all his voyages. By way 

 of giving me a specimen of its intelligence and feelingj 

 its master set to and rated it soundly, calling it scamp, 

 heathen, thief, and so forth, all through the copious 

 Portuguese vocabulary of vituperation. The poor 

 monkey, quietly seated on the gi'ound, seemed to be in 

 sore trouble at this display of anger. It began by 

 looking earnestly at him, then it whined, and lastly 

 rocked its body to and fro with emotion, crying piteously, 

 and passing its long, gaunt arms continually over its 

 forehead ; for this was its habit when excited, and the 

 front of the head was worn quite bald in consequence. 

 At lenGfth its master altered his tone. " It's all a lie, 



