with a variety of birds, snakes, and monkeys: the latter have often 
diverted me with their antic tricks; especially in their parental 
affection to their young offspring ; by teaching them to select their 
food, to exert themselves, in jumping from bough to bough, and 
then in taking more extensive leaps from tree to tree; encouraging 
them by caresses when timorous, and menacing, and even beating 
them, when refractory. Knowing by instinct the malignity of the 
snakes, they are most vigilant in their destruction: they seize them 
when asleep by the neck, and running to the nearest flat stone, 
grind down the head by a strong friction on the surface, frequently 
looking at it, and grinning at their progress. When convinced 
that the venomous fangs are destroyed, they toss the reptile to 
their young ones to play with, and seem to rejoice in the destruc- 
tion of the common enemy. 
On a shooting party under this tree, one of my friends killed a 
female monkey, and carried it to his tent; which was soon sur- 
rounded by forty or fifty of the tribe, who made a great noise, and 
in a menacing posture advanced towards it: on presenting his 
fowling-piece, they retreated, and appeared irresolute, but one, 
which from his age and station in the van, seemed the head of the 
troop, stood his ground, chattering and menacing in a furious man- 
ner; nor could any efforts less cruel than firing drive him off: he at 
length approached the tent door; -and when finding his threaten- 
ings were of no avail, he began a lamentable moaning, and by 
every token of grief and supplication, seemed to beg the body of 
the deceased: on this, it was given to him: with tender sorrow he 
took it up in his arms, embraced it with conjugal affection, and 
carried it off with a sort of triumph to his expecting comrades. 
