Having refreshed
myself with a breakfast of fruit, after the exhaustion of my nocturnal
flight, I ascended a spacious palm tree, which afforded an admirable
view of the adjacent country, and a desirable shelter from the ardours
of the rising sun. My first impulse was to take a bird's-eye view of the
novel scene which lay before me, and I gazed around for some minutes
with intense delight; but fatigue gradually obtained the mastery over
curiosity, and, putting my head unconsciously beneath my wing, I fell
into a profound sleep. How long this continued, I know not; but I was
suddenly awakened by a strange muttering of unknown voices. I looked,
and beheld two creatures whose appearance greatly surprised me. They had
nothing of the noble form and aspect of our Indian neighbours. One of
them considerably resembled the preacher-monkey in countenance and
deportment; his head was denuded of hair, and his person was covered by
a black substance, which left no limb visible except his ancles and
feet, which were very much like those of an ape. The other had all the
air of a gigantic parrot: he had a hooked bill, a sharp look, a yellow
head; and all the rest of his strange figure was party-coloured, blue,
green, red, and black.
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