i66 



degree of intelligence. Thence the fictions, of 

 which foxes, monkeys, crows, and the condor of 

 the Andes, have been the subjects in the two 

 hemispheres. 



The araguatoes are accused of sometimes 

 abandoning their young, that they may be lighter 

 for flight when pursued by the Indian hunters. 

 It is said, that mothers have been seen taking 

 off their young from their shoulders, and throw- 

 ing them down to the foot of the tree. I am in- 

 clined to believe, that a movement merely acci- 

 dental has been mistaken for one that was pre- 

 meditated. The Indians have a hatred or pre- 

 dilection for certain races of monkeys ; they 

 love the viuditas, the titis, and generally all the 

 little sagoins ; while the araguatoes, on account 

 of their mournful aspect, and their uniform 

 howlings, are at once detested and calumniated. 

 In reflecting on the causes, that may facilitate 

 the propagation of sound in the air during the 

 night, I thought it important to determine with 

 precision the distance, at which, especially in 

 damp and stormy weather, the howling of a 

 band of araguatoes is heard. I believe I ob- 

 tained proof of it's being distinguished at eight 

 hundred toises distance. The monkeys that are 

 furnished with four hands cannot make excur- 

 sions in the Llanos ; and it is easy, amid vast 

 plains covered with grass, to recognize a solitary 

 group of trees, whence the noise issues, and 



