THE SPIDER MONKEY. 



(Ateles hypoxanthus.) 



With his native guides a gentleman 

 was traveling one day through one of the 

 wonderfully luxuriant tropical forests of 

 eastern Brazil. They had left the Ama- 

 zon river and had come southeast to the 

 province of Maranhao, where the roots, 

 grasses and plants sometimes weave 

 themselves into vegetable bridges so solid 

 that a man may go some distance with- 

 out discovering that he has left the firm 

 earth. 



They had just passed over one of these 

 natural bridges and had evidently reached 

 the edge of the hidden pool, as they came 

 to a dense growth of rosewood trees, and 

 there they saw a most unique and pecu- 

 liar sight. The gentleman, being a 

 stranger in Brazil, exclaimed with as- 

 tonishment, for hanging from the 

 branches by their tails only, were a whole 

 troop of monkeys. 



They were of slender build, with long, 

 thin, sprawling limbs and small heads, 

 and they were indeed a most laughable 

 and comical sight. 



As soon as the gentleman recovered 

 from his surprise he fired upon the troop 

 and succeeded in slightly wounding one 

 which so maimed it that, uttering a loud 

 yell, it fell to the ground, and he was 

 able to secure it. The others, frightened, 

 quickly vanished, for their movements 

 were of surprising agility ; they threw 

 their long limbs about in the queerest 

 sort of a manner, using their tails in 

 climbing more than their limbs, seeming 

 to feel their way with the tip of the tail 

 and finding a place for support, they 

 swung themselves rapidly to the extreme 

 tree tops and were out of sight in less 

 time than it takes to describe their flight. 



When the troop could no longer be 

 seen the gentleman examined his wound- 

 ed captive and from what he knew of the 

 characteristics of the ape family, to which 

 all monkeys belong, he decided that with- 

 out question he had secured a specimen 

 of the Spider Monkey. 



It was a young mother and the baby 



monkey was clinging to her with its little 

 arms around her neck and legs around 

 her hips in a way not to impede her 

 motions. 



She was carefully examined by her 

 captor and he soon decided that the 

 wound was not dangerous and that with 

 care he might be able to take her with 

 her baby back with him to the United 

 States. 



So she now received the best of care. 

 She was secured with a rope attached to 

 a bit of silken handkerchief which was 

 carefully fitted to her leg and soon recov- 

 ering (for her captor was a skillful sur- 

 geon) she became the pet of the company. 



In length she was about four feet four 

 inches and she was covered with a dull 

 yellowish woolly fur. Her face was 

 quite brown, which proved that she was 

 still young, for the face grows dark gray 

 in old age. In examining the forepaw. 

 in order to find a thumb, nothing was 

 there except a short stub devoid of a 

 nail ; her nose was broad and flat and 

 she had thirty-six teeth. 



Surely she was a Miriki Spider Mon- 

 key and a fine specimen at that, but as 

 this variety is usually found only farther 

 south in Brazil, her captor was especially 

 pleased to secure her. 



It would take a long time to narrate all 

 the interesting things which one could 

 say about her, but I must tell you what 

 a devoted and lovely mother she was to 

 her helpless little baby. It was as funny 

 a little thing as you can imagine, ugly 

 as possible, with proportionately long 

 arms and legs and a face so old look- 

 ing and wrinkled that it reminded one 

 of an antiquated grandfather rather than 

 of an infant monkey. She would contin- 

 ually pet this little monster, lick its body, 

 hug it and fondle it ; she would hold it 

 in both hands as if admiring it and then 

 would rock it to sleep in her arms. The 

 children of royalty could not have more 

 tender care and attention than the little 

 Brazilian monkey gave her offspring. 



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