THE CHIRICLIS. 



237 



shut up a girl when she entered into the period of womanhood, until 

 the family could raise the means for a feast, when every body is invited ; 

 all hands get drunk ; and the maiden is produced with much ceremony, 

 and declared a woman of the tribe, whose hand may be sought in 

 marriage. The confinements sometimes last several months; for the 

 Indians do not hurry themselves in making their preparations, but are 

 ready when the yuccas are gathered, the masato made, and there is a 

 sufficient quantity of dried monkey in the house ; so that it sometimes 

 happens, when the poor girl is brought out, that she is nearly white. It 

 is said that she frequently conceals her situation from her family, prefer- 

 ring a sound beating, when time betrays her, to the dreary imprisonment. 



December 1. — I lost my beautiful and valued chiriclis, which died of 

 the cold ; it was put to bed as usual under the wash-basin, but the 

 basin was not put under the armayari, its usual place, and it rained 

 heavily all night. I was surprised at the delicacy of feeling shown by 

 my Indian boatmen on the occasion ; they knew how much I was 

 attached to the bird, and, instead of tossing the carcass overboard, as 

 they would have done with that of any other animal that I had, one of 

 them brought it into my room before I was awake, and laid it decently, 

 and with care, on a table at my bed-side. I felt the loss very sensibly — 

 first, because it was a present from good Father Calvo, upon whose head 

 and shoulder I had so often seen it perched ; and, secondly, on account 

 of the bird itself. It was beautiful, gentle, and affectionate; and so 

 gallant that I called it my Mohawk chief ; I have seen it take the 

 food, unresisted, out of the mouths of the parrots and macaws many times 

 its size, by the mere reputation of its valor ; and it waged many a 

 desperate battle with the monkeys. Its triumphant song when it had 

 vanquished an adversary was most amusing. It was very pleasant, as 

 the cool of night came on, to find it, with beak and claws, climbing 

 up the leg of my trousers until it arrived at the opening of my shirt, 

 and to hear its low note of satisfaction as it entered and stowed itself 

 snugly away in my armpit. It was as sensible of caresses, and as jeal- 

 ous, as a favorite; and I could never notice my little Pinshi monkey in 

 its sight that it did not fly at it and drive it off. 



This bird is the psit melanocephalus of Linneus. It is about the 

 size of a robin ; has black legs, yellow thighs, a spotted white breast, 

 orange neck and head, and a brilliant green back and wings. There is 

 another species of the same bird in Brazil. It is there called "periquito," 

 and differs from this in having the feathers on the top of the head black, 

 so as to have the appearance of wearing a cowl. Enrique Antonii, an 

 Italian resident at Barra, gave me one of this species, which was even 



