102 VOYAGE UP THE TAPAJOS. Chap. II, 



making some noise or other, often screwing up its 

 mouth and uttering a succession of loud notes resem- 

 bling a whistle. My little pet, when loose, used to run 

 after me, supporting itself for some distance on its hind 

 legs, without, however, having been taught to do it. 

 He offended me greatly one day by killing, in one of 

 his jealous fits, another and much choicer pet — the 

 nocturnal, owl-faced monkey (Nyctipithecus trivirgatus). 

 Some one had given this a fruit, which the other 

 coveted, so the two got to quarrelling. The Nycti- 

 pithecus fought only with its paws, clawing out and 

 hissing like a cat ; the other soon obtained the mastery, 

 and before I could interfere, finished his rival by crack- 

 ing its skull with his teeth. Upon this I got rid of 

 him. 



After a ramble of four or five hours, during which 

 Jose shot a beautiful green and black-striped lizard of 

 the Iguana family, from the trunk of a tree, and I filled 

 my insect box with new and rare species (including an 

 extremely beautiful butterfly of the genus Heliconius, 

 H, Hermathena), we rejoined our companions at a hut, 

 in the middle of the campo, where the Indians lived 

 who had charge of the cattle. A tract of land like this, 

 several miles in extent, alternating prairie and wood- 

 land, would be a rich possession in a better peopled 

 country. The few oxen seemed to thrive on the nu- 

 tritious grasses, and to make all complete there was a 

 little lake in the low grounds, surrounded by fan-leaved 

 Carana palms, where the cattle could be watered all the 

 year round. The farm was at present new, and the 

 men said they had not yet been visited by jaguars. The 



