Sometimes, on a higher spot of ground, a clump of trees forms an island worthy of Eden. A chaos of bush-ropes and creepers flings its garlands of gay flowers over the forest, and fills the air with the sweetest odours. Numerous birds, rivalling in beauty of colour the flowers of these hanging gardens, animate the banks of the lagoon; gaudy macaws perch on the loftiest trees; humming-birds dart with lightning speed from flower to flower-now hovering for an instant before you, as if to allow you to admire their surpassing beauty—now vanishing again with the rapidity of thought. But, as if to remind one that death is not banished from this scene of Paradise, a dark-robed vulture screeches through the woods; or an alligator, like a black log of wood or a sombre rock, rests on the dormant waters.

高处被丛丛树木点缀的岛屿时而像伊甸园那样充满魔力。杂乱的灌木和藤蔓托着鲜艳的花儿向上直穿森林苍穹，空气中四处弥漫着香甜的味道。数不清的各色鸟儿们和空中花园的花儿们争相竟美，这一切令泻湖两岸充满生机。色彩艳丽的的金刚鹦鹉落在最高处的树枝上休憩，蜂鸟们则以闪电般的速度在花儿间穿梭，时而在旅行者面前盘旋片刻，像在特意许你片刻时光来欣赏它的绝伦之美，过后又以迅雷眼耳之势从眼前消失。然而，当视线里出现黑袍秃鹫在树林里尖叫，或是有短吻鳄像根黑圆木或阴沉的岩石般在平静的水里闭目养神，又像是在提醒死亡的无处不在，即使是在美丽的伊甸园里。

In these boundless forests the monkeys form much the greater part of the mammalian inhabitants; for each species, though often confined within narrow limits, generally consists of a large number of individuals. The various arboreous fruits which the savage population of these immeasurable wilds is unable to turn to advantage, fall chiefly to their share; many of them also live upon insects. They are never seen in the open savannas, as they never touch the ground unless compelled by the greatest necessity. The trees of the forests furnish them with all the food they require; it is only in the woods that they feel "at home," and secure against the attacks of mightier animals: why then should they quit them for less congenial haunts?

在这些一望无际的森林里，猴子是众多定居者里数量最多的哺乳动物。虽然每种物种的活动范围有限，但它们往往数量庞大。各种树上结下的硕果是生活在这片广阔荒野上的凶残种群无法享用到的，但是却成了猴子们的主食，昆虫也是猴子们的食物来源之一。它们从不迷恋开阔的大草原，除非迫不得已，否则它们不会到地面上活动，因为生长在森林里的树木为他们提供了所需的所有食物，森林才是他们的家，在森林里度日才不会被更强大的动物袭击。然而，为什么他们会离开森林去到不那么宜居的地方呢？