324 TO THE AMAZON AND HOME [chap, x 



bad-tempered that he had to be kept solitary; but three 

 monkeys, big, middle-sized, and little, and a young pec- 

 cary 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. 



Bel^n, the capital of the state of Para, was an admirable 

 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 operations, 

 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 handsome, 

 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 burn 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 striking 

 examples of what can be done in the mid-tropics. The 

 governor of Para and his charming wife were more than 

 kind. 



Cherrie and Miller spent the day at the reaUy capital 

 zoological gardens, with the curator. Miss Snethlage. 

 Miss Snethlage, a German lady, is a first-rate field 

 and closet naturalist, and an explorer of note, who has 

 gone on foot from the Xingu to the Tapajos. Most 

 wisely she has confined the Belen zoo to the animals 



