The Forest Exiles: The Perils of a Peruvian Family in the Wilds of the Amazon

by Mayne Reid

  CHAPTER THIRTY SIX.

  THE MONKEY MOTHER.

  Now you will, perhaps, imagine that Guapo, having sat so quiet duringall this scene, had no desire for a bit of roast-monkey to supper. Inthat fancy, then, you would be quite astray from the truth. Guapo had a_strong_ desire to eat roast marimonda that very night; and, had he notbeen held back by Don Pablo, he would never have allowed the monkeys toget quietly out of the zamang--for it being an isolated tree, it wouldhave afforded him a capital opportunity of "treeing" them. His blow-gunhad been causing his fingers to itch all the time; and as soon as DonPablo and the rest were satisfied with observing the monkeys, Guapo setout, blow-gun in hand, followed by Leon.

  There was no cover by which he might approach the group; and, therefore,no course was left for him but to run up as quickly forward as possibleand take his chance of getting a shot as they made off.

  This course he pursued; but, before he was within anything like fairrange, the monkeys, uttering their shrill screams, scampered over theopen ground, much faster than before, and took to the grove, from whichthey had approached the spot.

  Guapo followed at a slashing pace, and was soon under the trees, Leon athis heels. Here they were met by a shower of sticks, pieces of bark,half-eaten "peaches," and something that was far less pleasant to theirolfactory nerves! All these came from the tops of the trees--the verytallest ones--to which the monkeys had retreated, and where they werenow hidden among the llianas and leaves.

  You may fancy that it is easy to pursue a troop of monkeys in a forest.But it is not easy--in most cases it is not _possible_. The tangledunderwood below puts a stop to the chase at once, as the monkeys canmake their way through the branches above much quicker than the huntercan through the creeping plants below.

  The pursuit would have been all up with Guapo, for the marimondas hadsoon got some way beyond the edge of the grove; but just as he wasturning to sulk back, his keen Indian eye caught sight of one that wasfar behind the rest--so far, indeed, that it seemed determined to seekits safety rather by hiding than by flight. It had got under cover of abunch of leaves, and there it lay quiet, uttering neither sound norsyllable. Guapo could just see a little bit of its side, and at this inan instant the gravatana was pointed. Guapo's chest and cheeks wereseen to swell out to their fullest extent, and off went the arrow. Ashriek followed--the monkey was hit--beyond a doubt. Guapo coollywaited the result.

  A movement was visible among the leaves; the marimonda was seen to turnand double about, and pluck something from its side; and then the brokenarrow came glancing among the twigs, and fell to the ground. The monkeywas now perceived to be twisting and writhing upon the branches, and itswild death-scream was answered by the voices of the others farther off.

  At length its body was seen more distinctly; it no longer thought ofconcealment; but lay out along the limb; and the next moment it droppedoff. It did not fall to the ground, though. It had no design ofgratifying its cruel destroyer to that extent. No; it merely dropped tothe end of its tail, which, lapped over the branch, held it suspended.A few convulsive vibrations followed, and it hung down dead!

  Guapo was thinking in what way he might get it down, for he knew that,unless he could reach it by some means, it would hang there until theweather rotted it off, or until some preying bird or the tree-ants hadeaten it. He thought of his axe--the tree was not a very thick one, andit was a soft-wood tree. It would be worth the labour of cutting itdown.

  He was about turning away to get the axe, when his eye was attracted bythe motion of some object near the monkey.

  "Another!" he muttered, and, sure enough, another,--a little tinycreature,--ran out from among the leaves, and climbing down the tail andbody of the one already shot, threw its arms around her neck and whinedpiteously. It was the young one--Guapo had shot the mother!

  The sight filled Leon with pity and grief; but Guapo knew nothing ofthese sentiments. He had already inserted another arrow into hisgravatana, and was raising the tube to bend it, when, all at once, therewas a loud rustling among the leaves above--a large marimonda that hadreturned from the band was seen springing out upon the branch--he wasthe husband and father!

  He did not pause a moment. Instinct or quick perception taught him thatthe female was dead: his object was to save the young one.

  He threw his long tail down, and grasping the little creature in itsfirm hold, jerked it upward; and then, mounting it on his back, bore itoff among the branches!

  All this passed so quickly, that Guapo had not time to deliver hissecond arrow. Guapo saw them no more.

  The Indian, however, was not to be cheated out of his supper ofroast-monkey. He walked quietly back for his axe; and bringing it up,soon felled the tree, and took the marimonda mother with him to thecamp.

  His next affair was to skin it, which he did by stripping the pelt fromthe head, arms, legs, and all; so that, after being skinned, thecreature bore a most hideous resemblance to a child!

  The process of cooking came next, and this Guapo made more tedious thanit might have been, as he was resolved to dress the marimonda after themanner practised by the Indians, and which by them is esteemed the best.He first built a little stage out of split laths of the pupunha palm.For this a hard wood that will resist fire a long time is necessary, andthe pupunha was just the thing. Under this stage Guapo kindled a fireof dry wood, and upon the laths he placed his monkey in a sittingposture, with its arms crossed in front, and its head resting upon them.The fire was then blown upon, until it became a bright blaze, whichcompletely enveloped the half upright form of the monkey. There wasplenty of smoke; but this is nothing in the eyes of a South AmericanIndian, many of whom prefer the "smoky flavour" in a roast monkey.

  Guapo had now no more to do, but wait patiently until the body should bereduced to a black and charred mass, for this is the condition in whichit is eaten by these strange people. When thus cooked, the fleshbecomes so dry that it will keep for months without spoiling.

  The white people who live in the _monkey countries_ eat roast monkey aswell as the Indians. Many of them, in fact, grow very fond of it. Theyusually dress it, however, in a different manner. They take off thehead and hands before bringing it to the table; so that the "child-like"appearance is less perceptible.

  Some species of monkeys are more delicate food than others, and thereare some kinds that _white_ monkey-eaters will not touch.

  As for the Indians, it seems with them to be "all fish," etcetera; andthey devour all kinds indifferently, whether they be "howlers," or"ateles," or "capuchins," or "ouistitis," or "sajous," or "sakis," orwhatever sort. In fact, among many Indian tribes, monkey stands in thesame place that mutton does in England; and they consider it theirstaple article of flesh-meat. Indeed, in these parts, no other animalis so common as the monkey; and, with the exception of birds and fish,they have little chance of getting any other species of animal food.The best "Southdown" would, perhaps, be as distasteful to them as monkeymeat would be to you; so here again we are met by that same eternalproverb,--"_Chacun a son gout_."