ng a bird than an animal. He was apt to be troublesome, even to
me, unless I found him some amusement; this, fortunately, was not
difficult; for his whole attention was soon engrossed by a flower, or by a
leaf from my note-book, which he would industriously pull to pieces, and
throw on the surface of the water, earnestly watching the fragments with
his quick black eye, as they glided away.

At other times, when sitting on my shoulder, he was an incessant plague,
twitching the hairs from my head by twos and threes, filling my ears with
fragments of plants and other rubbish, and taking a malicious pleasure in
holding on by those members when the boat lurched, and he was in danger of
falling. I think it was one of the same family that Humboldt found capable
of recognizing, as resemblances of their originals, even uncolored
zoological drawings; and would stretch out its hand to endeavor to capture
the bees and grasshoppers. I was unable to test the sagacity of my little
comrade, as the only accessible work with engravings was a copy of
Schomburgk's "Fishes of Guiana;" and when I showed him the plates he
manifested no signs of a knowledge of any of his finny compatriots; never,
perhaps, having seen them. He was dreadfully afraid of getting himself
wet, particularly his hands and feet; in this respect showing a very
different disposition to a large long-haired black monkey, belonging to a
family settled a short distance from our residence.

This animal--an object of the greatest terror to the little Jackowinki,
from his having caught him one day and ducked him in the river--was one of
the most tractable and docile I ever remember having met. He was in the
habit of accompanying his master in all his fishing and shooting
expeditions, taking his allotted seat in the canoe, and plying his small
paddle for hours together with the utmost gravity and composure; all the
while keeping excellent time, and being never "out of stroke." Like his
companions, he would now and then dip the handle of his paddle in the
water, to destroy the squeaking grate of the dry surface, and again would
lean over the side and wash his hands. His domestic habits were perfectly
human. The first thing every morning he cleansed his teeth, by taking a
mouthful of water, and using his finger as a tooth-brush; like the other
members of the family, whom he also imitated in their daily bath in the
river. Perhaps one at least of these peculiarities was not entirely