We now entered
the wood of palms to eat our dinner, when suddenly a number of monkeys,
alarmed by our approach, and the barking of the dog, fled like lightning
to the tops of the trees; and then grinned frightfully at us, with loud
cries of defiance. As I saw the trees were cocoa-palms, I hoped to
obtain, by means of the monkeys, a supply of the nuts in the half-ripe
state, when filled with milk. I held Fritz's arm, who was preparing to
shoot at them, to his great vexation, as he was irritated against the
poor monkeys for their derisive gestures; but I told him, that though no
patron of monkeys myself, I could not allow it. We had no right to kill
any animal except in defence, or as a means of supporting life. Besides,
the monkeys would be of more use to us living than dead, as I would show
him. I began to throw stones at the monkeys, not being able, of course,
to reach the place of their retreat, and they, in their anger, and in
the spirit of imitation, gathered the nuts and hurled them on us in such
quantities, that we had some difficulty in escaping from them. We had
soon a large stock of cocoa-nuts. Fritz enjoyed the success of the
stratagem, and, when the shower subsided, he collected as many as he
wished. We then sat down, and tasted some of the milk through the three
small holes, which we opened with our knives.
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