Angel of the Amazon

Part 3

February 21st 1875

Well, it appears I will not have to go looking for the creature. He came to US! I'm not kidding. I was sure he had gone off with the rest of his tribe or flock, but instead he decided to track me down. Must have been easy with my muddy footprints. Either that, or he might have been naturally attracted to the lanterns the glowed around the parameter of our camp.

Either way, we discovered him at about four in the morning in one of the large net traps. He was hanging from a tree limb in one of the nets, trying to chew his way through the ropes. Honestly, he looked quite amusing. He was curled up in fetal position with his legs crossed and and wings bent at an odd (but not unnatural...probably uncomfortable) angles with the feathers sticking out of the holes in the net.

He stopped chewing on the rope to look at us. His eyes were wide as they looked from person to person. They were full of surprise, a little bit of fear, and curiosity. The men stared at him in shock.

I smirked and said, "I told you so!" The creature then turned to face me. He didn't seem to recognize me but he quickly became transfixed on my hair. Mine is the only color other than brown or black out of the men on this expedition. The bright shade of orange must have been very striking for him.

Before anything else could be verbally said, Ralph, Philip, and I had silently agreed we had to get him down to study him without him throwing a fit. Philip had a tranquilizer dart ready, and slowly snuck behind him to shoot it into his back. He let out a yelp and gave a look of panic, but he quickly was lulled to sleep.

We cut him down and brought him to and examining table (or rather mat because the table was too small) and with Joseph, began to take notes on whatever we could. His shins seemed to be slightly smaller proportionally to the average human body, being 10/12 what it should have been. His hair, upon close inspection, seemed unnaturally soft for being so dirty and tangled. We took a small sample to view under a microscope later. The rest of his body had very thin hair if at all. His teeth were also very interest. His canines were larger, and his molars were also slightly bigger than a human's. They were very yellow, which I guess is to be expected when one lives without any hygiene products. All his front teeth looked quite sharp as well, like they were made for cutting through flesh. However, we also found bits of seeds stuck between his teeth, leading us to believe his kind is omnivorous.

He eventually started to awake, and like most anything finding itself in a strange environment, began to panic. I had to run to pin him down while Joseph went to get the tranquilizer darts. Surprisingly, we didn't need them! Once I had grabbed him, he looked at me with slight recognition, and calmed down significantly. A little while after he had, he began to groom through my hair. I had originally protested to him doing so, but caved when I realized it would mean he would sit still. I guess this means we can add social grooming to the list of this creatures' behaviors. Unlike primates though, he (thankfully) didn't eat anything he found. His kind also apparently groom each others back feathers. I found this out after he had finished grooming my hair. He turned around so that his back was facing me and he looked over his shoulder at me expectantly until I started.

Things got stranger as the day progress. The biggest oddity, was that he didn't try to leave. Even when he got outside the research tent, he didn't try to fly off! It didn't make any sense. His wings weren't broken. His tail feathers were straight. He didn't even look slightly injured! Had he gotten lost trying to get back to his tribe and decided to stay here? Was he just plain curious about us? Did he think we had adopted him? I really wish he could understand English.

He got into trouble quite a bit today by getting into things he wasn't supposed to. Curious does not even begin to describe him. He will stop at almost nothing to find out what something is and what it does. So far he has manage to dismantle several of my scientific instruments, break two glasses, and attempted to try on any piece of clothing he could get his hands on(that didn't mean he would wear them as they were intended to be worn).He finds clothing very interesting. About an hour ago I found him with all my once carefully folded and matched socks in one great big mixed-up pile, and was trying to figure out what appendage they were supposed to go on and how many he could fit on said appendage. My burgundy pair are now stretched too much to wear anymore.

I had gotten very angry at him and threw him out of my tent. He then disappeared for twenty minutes and came back, presenting me with a dead piranha in what I assume to be an act of apology. He certainly looked sorry, but I'm not entirely sure. I ended up accepting it, and I plan to dissect it later.

Despite his antics, I am growing very fond of him. He's currently in the room with me watching me write. He seems almost mesmerized by it. I stand by my belief that this being is very intelligent, and that his rampant curiosity is proof of it. He's obviously self aware enough to notice when he had done something wrong and try to seek forgiveness. He still seems to be a child of some kind. Maybe his kind mellows out when the__________

Please forgive the ink line suddenly cutting through the page. He took my fountain pen and then drew scribbles on several of my papers, and what looks like a bird on the side of my dresser...Its actually a pretty good drawing. Still, I'm having him stay in corner he filled with my socks where I can see him and make sure he's not going to get into trouble until I'm finished. I think he's sulking.

On a final note, I have to ask myself a big question. What do I call him? I don't just mean as what should I call him and his kind's species, but what name should I give him particularly?

I can't just keep calling him "the creature". He's obviously smart enough to learn and understand when he's being spoken to, so I should come up with a name for him. Maybe something unique...I was thinking something Biblical for a while as a joke, but maybe not. How about...Zaphod? Maybe. I'll see if he likes it tomorrow.