When we reached the mouth of the Rio Negro, we had to
wait four days while the custom-house officials at Barra, ten
miles distant, made out the passports for our crew, and during
this time the schooner lay close to the shore, with its bowsprit
secured to the trees on the bank. Well, one morning, scarlet-face
was missing, having made his escape into the forest. Two men were
sent in search of him, but returned after several hours' absence
without having caught sight of the runaway. We gave up the monkey
for lost, until the following day, when he re-appeared on the
skirts of the forest, and marched quietly down the bowsprit to
his usual place on deck. He had evidently found the forests of
the Rio Negro very different from those of the delta lands of the
Japura, and preferred captivity to freedom in a place that was so
uncongenial to him.
The Parauacu Monkey.--Another Ega monkey, nearly related to the
Uakaris, is the Parauacu (Pithecia hirsuta), a timid inoffensive
creature with a long bear-like coat of harsh speckled-grey hair.
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