346 Through the Brazilian Wilderness 



lagoons such as those where he had been hunting, beside 

 the Solimoens — ^lagoons filled with the huge and splendid 

 Victoria lily, and with masses of water hyacinths. Miller, 

 who was very fond of animals and always took much 

 care of them, had a small collection which he was bring- 

 ing back for the Bronx Zoo. An agouti was so bad-tem- 

 pered that he had to be kept solitary; but three monkeys, 

 big, middle-sized, and little, and a young peccary formed 

 a happy family. The largest monkey cried, shedding real 

 tears, when taken in the arms and pitied. The middle- 

 sized monkey was stupid and kindly, and all the rest of 

 the company imposed on it; the little monkey invariably 

 rode on its back, and the peccary used it as a head pillow 

 when it felt sleepy. 



Belen, the capital of the state of Para, was an ad- 

 mirable illustration of the genuine and almost startling 

 progress which Brazil has been making of recent years. 

 It is a beautiful city, nearly under the equator. But it 

 is not merely beautiful. The docks, the dredging opera- 

 tions, the warehouses, the stores and shops, all tell of 

 energy and success in commercial life. It is as clean, 

 healthy, and well policed a city as any of the size in the 

 north temperate zone. The public buildings are hand- 

 some, the private dwellings attractive; there are a fine 

 opera-house, an excellent tramway system, and a good 

 museum and botanical gardens. There are cavalry 

 stables, where lights bum all night long to protect the 

 horses from the vampire bats. The parks, the rows of 

 palms and mango-trees, the open-air restaurants, the gay 

 life under the lights at night, all give the city its own 

 special quality and charm. Belen and Manaos are very 



