e about. They were
considerably larger than any we had seen; indeed, the howler is the
largest monkey in the New World. The fur is of a rich bay colour, and
as the sun fell upon the coats of some of them above us, they shone with
a golden lustre. The thick beard which hung from the chin and neck was
of a deeper hue than the body. Our friend told us that those he had
caught were generally about three feet long, and that their tails in
addition were of even greater length. We went on without disturbing the
assemblage in their aerial seat, greatly to True's disappointment, who
would evidently have liked to measure his strength with one of them.
Like the spider monkeys, they live entirely in trees, making good use of
their long tails as they move about from branch to branch; indeed, the
tail serves the howler for another hand. When by any chance he descends
to the ground, he moves along very awkwardly, and can easily be caught,
as we afterwards discovered.

Our new acquaintance was but little inclined to talk; indeed, had he
been so, we could seldom have enjoyed much conversation, as we were
compelled in most places to follow him in Indian file. Now and then he
had to use his hatchet to clear the path, and we very frequently had to
force our way by pressing aside the branches which met in front of us.
Still he went on without wavering for a moment, or appearing doubtful of
the direction he should take. After going on some way further, he again
stopped, and pointed to a tree, the branch of which rose a few feet off.
I knew by the way True barked that some creature was there; and looking
more narrowly, I observed some animals clinging to the lower branches,
but so nearly did they resemble the bark to which they were holding,
that had they not been pointed out to me I should have passed them by.
The animals turned listless glances at us, and seemed in no way disposed
to move.

"There," observed the recluse, "are creatures in every way adapted to
the mode of life which they are doomed to lead. Place them in any
other, and they will be miserable. You see there the _ai_, or
three-toed sloth (the _Bradypus torquatus_). Though its arms, or
fore-legs more properly, are nearly twice as long as the hinder ones, it
finds them exactly suited for climbing the trees on which it lives.
Place it on the ground, and it cannot get along. It passes its life,
not above, but under the branches. When moving along, it suspends
itself