THE SPIDER MONKEY 
accuracy. We were then in latitude 11° 38'.4 south; 
longitude 57° 05' west. 
Gorgeous gamelleira or figueira trees (ficus) were to 
be seen on that island, standing high up upon arches 
formed by vigorous roots. In a way the lower part of 
those figueiras resembled a huge octopus, the branches 
being extremely contorted as they clung to the ground 
in order to support the weight of the giant tree of which 
they made part. One could easily walk under the tree 
among the roots and still have six or eight feet of space 
left above one’s head. 
As I went round to explore the island while my men 
were cooking the dinner, I discovered a small lake in the 
centre of the island, a most poetic spot, with the neat, 
delightful vegetation all round it reflected as in a mirror 
in the golden waters, which reproduced in a deeper tone 
the rich sunset tints of the sky above. I sat down to look 
at the beautiful scene. The poetry vanished in a moment. 
Millions of ants swarmed all over me the moment I sat 
down upon the ground, and bit me with such fury that I 
had to remove my clothes in the greatest haste and jump 
into the water. That raised a cloud of mosquitoes, which 
made it most uncomfortable for me when I came out again 
and was busy searching for ants in my clothes. 
My men killed a beautiful long-armed spider monkey. 
I was sorry, as I had watched the wonderful jumps of this 
animal from one tree to another. Using the impetus of 
the swing which they could obtain from the immense 
length of their arms, as well as the swing of the branch 
on which they were hanging, they could fly enormous 
distances through the air. The span from hand to 
hand in proportion to the size of the body was really 
amazing. 
Luiz Schnoor Island was 450 metres long. Plenty 
of rubber trees were to be seen on the right bank of the 
river after passing this great island, especially where the 
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