THE QUADRUMANA, OR MONKEY TRIBE.

Formed like man, and practicing similar gestures, but with thumbsrninstead of great toes upon their feet, and with so narrow a heel-bone,rnthat even those who constantly walk upright have not the firm andrndignified step of human beings; the Quadrumana yet approximate sornclosely to us, that they demand the first place in a book devotedrnprincipally to the intellectual (whether it be reason or instinct)rnhistory of animals. This approximation is a matter of amusement to some;rnbut to the larger portion of mankind, I should say, it is a source ofrndisgust. "Rapoynda," I exclaimed, one day, to a troublesome,rninquisitive, restless negro, pointing to a black monkey, which muchrnresembled him in character, "that is your brother." Never shall I forgetrnthe malignant scowl which passed over the man's features at my heedlessrncomparison. No apology, no kindness, not even the gift of a smartrnwaistcoat, which he greatly coveted, ever restored me to his goodrngraces; and I was not sorry when his Chief summoned him from myrnvicinity, for I dreaded his revenge.rnrnA few years after, I stood lost in admiration before Sir EdwinrnLandseer's inimitable picture of "the monkey who had seen the world," inrnwhich nature and truth lend their tone and force to the highest effortsrnof art; when a voice exclaimed, "How can you waste your time looking atrnthat thing; such creatures ought never to have been painted;" andrnalthough the speaker was a religious man, he muttered to himself, "I amrnnot sure they ought ever to have been made." The voice proceeded fromrnone of the finest instances of manly beauty; one famed also for talentrnand acquirement. Rapoynda started into my recollection; and as I slowlyrnleft the talented picture, I could not help smiling at the commonrnfeeling between the savage and the gentleman, thereby proving itsrnuniversality.rnrnNever did any one start for a tropical climate with a greater antipathyrntowards these "wild men" than I did; I lived years in their vicinity andrnyet contrived to avoid all contact with them, and it was not till I wasrnhomeward-bound that my conversion was effected. The ship in which Mr.rnBowdich and myself took a round-about course to England, was floatingrnon a wide expanse of water, disturbed only by the heavy swell, whichrnforms the sole motion in a calm; the watch on deck were seated near thernbows of the vessel, the passengers and officers were almost all below,rnthere was only myself and the helmsman on the after-deck; he stoodrnlistlessly by the binnacle, and I was wholly occupied in reading. Arnnoise between a squeak and a chatter suddenly met my ears; and before Irncould turn my head to see whence it proceeded, a heavy, living creaturernjumped on to my shoulders from behind, and its tail encircled my throat.rnI felt it was Jack, the cook's monkey; the mischievous, malicious,rnmocking, but inimitable Jack, whose pranks had often made me laughrnagainst my will, as I watched him from a distance, but with whom I hadrnnever made the least acquaintance. Whether from fear or presence of mindrnI do not pretend to say, but I remained perfectly still, and in a minuternor two Jack put his head forward and stared me in the face, uttering arnsort of croak; he then descended on to my knees, examined my hands as ifrnhe were counting my fingers, tried to take off my rings, and when I gavernhim some biscuit, curled himself compactly into my lap. We were friendsrnfrom that moment. My aversion thus cured, I have ever since feltrnindescribable interest and entertainment in watching, studying, andrnprotecting monkeys. We had several on board the above-mentioned vessel,rnbut Jack was the prince of them all.rnrnExclusively belonging to the cook, although a favourite with the wholerncrew, my friend (a Cercopithecus from Senegal) had been at first kept byrnmeans of a cord, attached to the caboose; but, as he became more andrnmore tame, his liberty was extended, till at last he was allowed thernwhole range of the ship, with the exception of the captain's andrnpassengers' cabins. The occupations which he marked out for himselfrnbegan at early dawn, by overturning the steward's parrot-cage wheneverrnhe could get at it, in order to secure the lump of sugar which thenrnrolled out, or lick up the water which ran from the upset cup; hernevidently intended to pull the parrot's feathers, but the latter, byrnturning round as fast as Jack turned, always faced him, and his beak wasrntoo formidable to be encountered. I was frequently awakened by the quickrntrampling of feet at this early hour, and knew it arose from a pursuitrnof Jack, in consequence of some mischief on his part. Like all otherrnnautical monkeys, he descended into the forecastle, where he twisted offrnthe night-caps of the sailors as they lay in their hammocks, stole theirrnknives, tools, etc., and if they were not very active in the pursuit,rnthese purloinings were thrown overboard.rnrnWhen the preparations for breakfast began, Jack took his post in arncorner near the grate, and when the cook's back was turned, hooked outrnthe pieces of biscuit which were toasting between the bars for the men,rnand snatched the bunches of dried herbs, with which they tried tornimitate tea, out of the tin mugs. He sometimes scalded or burnt hisrnfingers by these tricks, which kept him quiet for a few days; but nornsooner was the pain gone than he repeated the mischief.rnrnTwo days in each week, the pigs, which formed part of our live stock,rnwere allowed to run about the deck for exercise, and then Jack wasrnparticularly happy: hiding himself behind a cask, he would suddenlyrnspring on to the back of one of them, his face to the tail, and awayrnscampered his frightened steed. Sometimes an obstacle would impede therngallop, and then Jack, loosening the hold which he had acquired byrndigging his nails into the skin of the pig, industriously tried tornuncurl its tail, and if he were saluted by a laugh from some one nearrnby, he would look up with an assumed air of wonder, as much as to say;rnWhat can you find to laugh at? When the pigs were shut up, he thought itrnhis turn to give others a ride, and there were three little monkeys,rnwith red skins and blue faces, whom he particularly favored: Irnfrequently met him with all of them on his back at the same time,rnsqueaking and huddling together, and with difficulty preserving theirrnseat; when he suddenly stopped, and seemed to ask me to praise therngood-natured action which he was performing. He was, however, jealousrnof all those of his brethren who came in contact with me, and freedrnhimself from two of his rivals by throwing them into the sea. One ofrnthem was a small Lion monkey, of great beauty and extreme gentleness,rnand immediately after I had been feeding him, Jack called him with arncoaxing, patronizing air; but as soon as he was within reach, thernperfidious creature seized him by the nape of his neck, and, as quick asrnthought, popped him over the side of the ship. We were going at a briskrnrate, and although a rope was thrown out to him, the poor littlernscreaming thing was soon left behind, very much to my distress, for hisrnalmost human agony of countenance was painful to behold. For this, Jackrnwas punished by being shut up all day in the empty hen-coop, in which hernusually passed the night, and which he so hated, that when bed-timerncame, he generally avoided the clutches of the steward; he, however,rncommitted so much mischief when unwatched, that it had become necessaryrnto confine him at night, and I was often obliged to perform the officernof nursemaid. Jack's principal punishment, however, was to be taken inrnfront of the cage in which a panther belonging to me was placed, in thernfore part of the deck. His alarm was intense; the panther set up hisrnback and growled, but Jack instantly closed his eyes, and made himselfrnperfectly rigid. I generally held him up by the tail, and if I moved,rnhe cautiously opened one eye; but if he caught sight of even a corner ofrnthe cage, he shut it fast, and again pretended to be dead. His drollestrntrick was practised on a poor little black monkey; taking thernopportunity when a calm, similar to that spoken of above, left himrnnearly the sole possessor of the deck. I do not know that he saw me, forrnI was sitting behind the companion door. The men had been painting thernship outside, and were putting a broad band of white upon her, when theyrnwent to dinner below, leaving their paint and brushes on the upper deck.rnJack enticed his victim to him, who meekly obeyed the summons; and,rnseizing him with one hand, he, with the other, took the brush, andrncovered him with the white fluid from head to foot. The laugh of the manrnat the helm called my attention to the circumstance, and as soon as Jackrnperceived he was discovered, he dropped his dripping brother, andrnrapidly scampered up the rigging, till he gained the main-top, where hernstood with his nose between the bars, looking at what was going onrnbelow. As the other monkey began to lick himself, I called up thernsteward, who washed him clean with turpentine, and no harm ensued; butrnJack was afraid to come down, and only after three days passed in hisrnelevated place of refuge did hunger compel him to descend. He chose thernmoment when I was sitting on deck, and, swinging himself by a rope, herndropped suddenly into my lap, looking so imploringly at me for pardon,rnthat I not only forgave him myself, but procured his absolution fromrnothers. Jack and I parted a little to the south of the Sicily Islands,rnafter five month's companionship, and never met again; but I was toldrnthat he was much distressed at my absence, hunted for me all over thernvessel in the most disconsolate manner, even venturing into my cabin;rnnor was he reconciled to the loss of me when the ship's company partedrnin the London docks.rnrnAnother monkey, of the same species as Jack, was trained by a man inrnParis to perform a multitude of clever tricks. I met him one dayrnsuddenly as he was coming up the drawing-room stairs. He made way for mernby standing in an angle, and when I said, "Good morning," took off hisrncap, and made me a low bow. "Are you going away?" I asked; "where isrnyour passport?" Upon which he took from the same cap a square piece ofrnpaper which he opened, and shewed to me. His master told him my gown wasrndusty, and he instantly took a small brush from his master's pocket,rnraised the hem of my dress, cleaned it, and then did the same for myrnshoes. He was perfectly docile and obedient; when we gave him somethingrnto eat, he did not cram his pouches with it, but delicately and tidilyrndevoured it; and when we bestowed money on him, he immediately put itrninto his master's hands.rnrnMuch more accomplished monkeys than those of which I have spoken, havernbeen known to act plays, and to assume the characters they havernundertaken, with a spirit and aptitude which might tempt us to supposernthat they were perfectly cognizant of every bearing of their differentrnparts; and their stratagems to procure food, and defend themselves, arernonly equalled by human beings.rnrnDenizens of those mighty forests, which clothe the earth between therntropics of both the Old and New World, assembling by hundreds in thosernlands where the Palm, the Banyan, the Baobab, the Bombax, and thousandsrnof magnificent trees adorn the soil; where the most delicious fruits arernto be procured, by merely stretching out the hand to separate them fromrntheir parent stem; no wonder that both apes and monkeys thererncongregate, and strike the European, on his first arrival among them,rnwith astonishment. I had seen many at Cape Coast; but not till Irnadvanced into the forest up the windings of the river Gaboon, could Irnform any idea of their multitude, or of the various habits whichrncharacterize their savage lives. The first time the reality burst uponrnme, was in going up a creek of that river to reach the town of Naaengornwhen the most deafening screams were to be heard over head, mixed withrnsqueaks and sundry strange noises. These proceeded from red and greyrnparrots, which were pursued to the tops of the tallest trees by thernmonkeys. The birds were not frightened; on the contrary, they appearedrnto enjoy the fun, and perching on slight twigs, which would not bear thernweight of their playfellows, they stretched out their wings, and seemedrnvociferously to exclaim, "You can't catch me!" Sometimes, however, theyrn_were_ surprised, and then there was such a scuffle and noise. Thernfour-handed beast, however, plucked the red feathers from the tail ofrnthe bird; and careless of its anger, seated himself on a branch, suckingrnthe quills till they were dry, when he started for a fresh supply.rnrnThat monkeys enjoy movement, that they delight in pilfering, inrnoutwitting each other and their higher brethren--men; that they glory inrntearing and destroying the works of art by which they are surrounded inrna domestic state; that they lay the most artful plans to effect theirrnpurposes, is all perfectly true; but the terms _mirthful_ and _merry_,rnseem to me to be totally misapplied, in reference to their feelings andrnactions; for they do all in solemnity and seriousness. Do you standrnunder a tree, whose thick foliage completely screens you from the sun,rnand you hope to enjoy perfect shade and repose; a slight rustling provesrnthat companions are near; presently a broken twig drops upon you, thenrnanother, you raise your eyes, and find that hundreds of other eyes arernstaring at you. In another minute you see the grotesque faces to whichrnthose eyes belong, making grimaces, as you suppose, but it is no suchrnthing, they are solemnly contemplating the intruder; they are notrnpelting him in play, it is their business to drive him from theirrndomain. Raise your arm, the boughs shake, the chattering begins, and thernsooner you decamp; the more you will shew your discretion.rnrnWatch the ape or monkey with which you come into closer contact; does hernpick up a blade of grass, he will examine it with as much attention asrnif he were determining the value of a precious stone. Do you put foodrnbefore him, he tucks it into his mouth as fast as possible, and when hisrncheek pouches are so full that they cannot hold any more, he looks atrnyou as if he seriously asked your approval of his laying up stores forrnthe future. If he destroy the most valuable piece of glass or china inrnyour possession, he does not look as if he enjoyed the mischief, butrneither puts on an impudent air, as much as to say, "I don't care," orrncalmly tries to let you know he thought it his duty to destroy yourrnproperty. Savage, violent and noisy are they when irritated orrndisappointed, and long do they retain the recollection of an affront. Irnonce annoyed a monkey in the collection of the Jardin des Plantes, inrnParis, by preventing him from purloining the food of one of hisrncompanions; in doing which I gave him a knock upon his paws. It wasrnlucky that strong wires were between us, or he would probably have hurtrnme severely in his rage; he shook the cage, he rolled about andrnscreamed, and did not forget the offence. On future occasions, therninstant he heard my voice, he put himself into a passion: and severalrnmonths after, although I had been absent the whole time, he seized on myrngown while I incautiously stood too near to him, dragged a portion of itrnwithin the bars, and bit a great piece out of it, although it was madernof a very strong material.rnrnA monkey, of I know not what species, was domiciled in a family inrnYorkshire to whom my mother was paying a visit of some days. A largerndinner-party was given in honor of the guest, the master of the housernhelped the soup; but as he was talking at the time, he did not observernits appearance. Presently all to whom it had been served, laid downrntheir spoons, or sent their plates away. This of course attractedrnattention, and on inspection, the liquid was discovered to be full ofrnshort hairs. The servants in attendance were questioned, but theyrndeclared they were ignorant of the cause; and the wisest and politestrnproceeding was, to send the tureen from the table, and, serving thernfish, make no further comment. The mistress of the family, however, whenrnthe ladies left the dining-room, slipped away from her friends, andrnsummoning the cook to her presence, received an explanation of thernmystery. The woman said, she had left the kitchen only for one minute,rnand when she returned, she saw the monkey standing on the hob of thernkitchen grate, with one fore-paw resting on the lid of the boiler whichrncontained the soup. "Oh, Mr. Curiosity," she exclaimed, "that is toornmuch for you, you can't lift that up." To her horror and amazement,rnhowever, he _had_ lifted it up, and was putting it on again afterrnpopping the kitten in, whose remains were discovered at the bottom whenrnthe soup was strained. The poor cook was so bewildered, that she did notrnknow what to do: it was time for the dinner to be served, and she,rntherefore, for the look's sake, thought it best to send the soup in asrnit was, even if it were sent out again immediately, "because you knowrnma'am," said she, "that would prove you had ordered it. I always thoughtrnthe monkey would do the kitten a mischief, he was so jealous of it, andrnhated it so because it scratched him, so he seized it when asleep."rnrnA much better disposed monkey belonged to my eldest daughter; and wernbrought him to England from the Gambia. He seemed to know that he couldrnmaster the child, and did not hesitate to bite and scratch her wheneverrnshe pulled him a little harder than he thought proper. I punished himrnfor each offence, yet fed and caressed him when good; by which means Irnpossessed an entire ascendancy over him. He was very wretched in Londonrnlodgings, where I was obliged to fasten him to the bars of a stove, andrnwhere he had no fresh air; and he was no sooner let loose than he triedrnto break everything within his reach; so I persuaded his young mistressrnto present him to the Jardin des Plantes. I took him there; and duringrnmy stay in that place paid him daily visits. When these wererndiscontinued, the keeper told me that he incessantly watched for myrnreturn, and it was long before he recovered his disappointment, and madernfriends with his companions in the same cage. Two years after, I againrnwent to see him; and when I stood before him and said, "Mac, do you knowrnme?" he gave a scream of delight, put both his paws beyond the bars,rnstretched them out to me, held his head down to be caressed, uttering arnlow murmur, and giving every sign of delighted recognition.rnrnThe most melancholy of all monkeys is, apparently, the Chimpanzee; andrnalthough he has perhaps evinced more power of imitating man than anyrnother, he performs all he does with a sad look, frequently accompaniedrnby petulance, and occasional bursts of fury. One of the smaller species,rnsuch as those which at different times have been brought to England andrnParis, was offered to Mr. Bowdich for purchase, while our ship lay inrnthe river Gaboon. His owner left him with us for four weeks, duringrnwhich time I had an opportunity of watching his habits. He would notrnassociate with any other of the tribe, not even the irresistible Jack;rnbut was becoming reconciled to me, when one unlucky day I checked hisrndawning partiality. He followed me to the Panther's cage, and I shallrnnever forget the fearful yell which he uttered. He fled as swiftly asrnpossible, overturning men and boys in his way, with a strength little tornbe expected from his size, nor did he stop till he had thrust himselfrninto a boat sail on the after-deck, with which he entirely coveredrnhimself, and which was thenceforward his favourite abode. It was severalrndays before I could reinstate myself in his good opinion, for hernevidently thought I had had something to do with the panther. The latterrnhad been in such a fury, that the sailors thought he would have brokenrnhis cage; and he continued restless and watchful for hours afterwards,rnproving that the chimpanzee is found in his country of Ashanti, furtherrnto the north than we had imagined. We did not buy the animal, on accountrnof the exorbitant sum asked for him, and the risk of his living during arnlong voyage. He was always very sad, but very gentle; and his attachmentrnto his master was very great, clinging to him like a child, and goingrnjoyfully away in his arms. Of those kept in the Zoological gardens ofrnEngland and Paris, many anecdotes have been related, evincing greatrnintelligence. One of the latter used to sit in a chair, lock and unlockrnhis door, drink tea with a spoon, eat with a knife and fork, set outrnhis own dinner, cry when left alone, and delight in being apparentlyrnconsidered one of his keeper's family.rnrnIt is in equatorial Africa that the most powerful of all the Quadrumanarnlive, far exceeding the Oran Outang, and even the Pongo of Borneo. Mr.rnBowdich and myself were the first to revive and confirm a longrnforgotten, and vague report of the existence of such a creature, andrnmany thought, as we ourselves had not seen it, that we had been deceivedrnby the natives. They assured us that these huge creatures walkrnconstantly on their hind feet, and never yet were taken alive; that theyrnwatch the actions of men, and imitate them as nearly as possible. Likernthe ivory hunters, they pick up the fallen tusks of elephants, but notrnknowing where to deposit them, they carry their burthens about till theyrnthemselves drop, and even die from fatigue: that they build huts nearlyrnin the shape of those of men, but live on the outside; and that when onernof their children dies, the mother carries it in her arms till it fallsrnto pieces; that one blow of their paw will kill a man, and that nothingrncan exceed their ferocity.rnrnA male and female, of an enormous species of chimpanzee, were brought tornBristol by the master of a vessel coming from the river Gaboon, he hadrnbeen commissioned to bring them alive, but as this was impracticable,rnhe put the male into a puncheon of rum, and the female into a cask ofrnstrong brine, after they had been shot. The person who had ordered,rnrefused to take them, and Professor Owen secured them for the College ofrnSurgeons. The flesh of that in salt and water fell from the bones, butrnit was possible to set the other up so as to have his portrait taken,rnwhich likeness is now in the museum of the college. The rum had sorndestroyed the hair, that he could not be stuffed, he was between fourrnand five feet high, his enormous nails, amounting to claws, were wellrnadapted for digging roots, and his huge, strong teeth, must have madernhim a formidable antagonist. There could not be any thing much morernhideous than his appearance, even when allowances were made for therndisfiguring effects of the spirit in which he had been preserved. He wasrnentirely covered with hair, and not wrinkled and bare in front like thernsmaller Chimpanzee; and it was for some time supposed, that this was thernIngheena reported by Mr. Bowdich. Since then, however, some skulls havernbeen sent to England from the same locality, of much larger proportions,rnbetokening an almost marvellous size and strength; and these probably,rnbelonged to the real Ingheena. They go about in pairs; and it is evidentrnfrom their enormous teeth, that, as they are not flesh-eating animals,rnthese weapons must have been given to them as means of defence againstrnthe most powerful enemies; in fact, against each other.rnrnI now come from my own knowledge and personal experience to those ofrnothers, and I cannot begin with a more interesting account than thatrngiven by Mr. Bennett of the Ungka Ape, or Gibbon of Sumatra, the SimiarnSyndactyla of naturalists. He stood two feet high when on his hind legs,rnand was covered with black hair, except on the face, the skin of whichrnwas also black; the legs were short in proportion to the body and arms,rnthe latter being exceedingly long. His only pouch was under the throat,rnthe use of which was not apparent, for he did not make it a reservoirrnfor food. He uttered a squeaking or chirping note when pleased, a hollowrnbark when irritated, and when frightened or angry he loudly called outrn"Ra, ra, ra." He was as grave as the rest of his tribe, but not equallyrnmischievous; he, however, frequently purloined the ink, sucking thernpens, and drinking the liquid whenever he could get at it. He soon knewrnhis name, and readily went to those who called him. The chief object ofrnhis attachment was a Papuan child; and he would sit with one of his longrnarms round her neck, share his biscuit with her, run from or after herrnin play, roll on the deck, entwining his arms around her, pretend tornbite, swing himself away by means of a rope, and then drop suddenly uponrnher, with many other frolics of a childish character. If, however, sherntried to make him play when he was not inclined to do so, he wouldrngently warn her by a bite, that he would not suffer her to take anyrnliberties. He made advances to several small monkeys, but they alwaysrndrew themselves up into an opposing force, and he, to punish theirrnimpertinence, seized hold of their tails, and pulled them till thernsqueaking owners contrived to escape, or he dragged them along by thesernappendages up the rigging, and then suddenly let them go, he all therntime preserving the utmost gravity.rnrnWhen the hour came for the passengers' dinner he took his station nearrnthe table, and, if laughed at while eating, barked, inflated his pouch,rnand looked at those who ridiculed him in the most serious manner tillrnthey had finished, when he quietly resumed his own meal. This is oftenrndone by others of his race, and some seem to inquire what you see tornlaugh at, while others fly into a passion when such an affront isrnoffered.rnrnUngka greatly disliked being left alone, and when refused anything whichrnhe wished for, rolled upon the deck, threw his arms and legs about, andrndashed every thing down which came within his reach, incessantlyrnuttering "Ra, ra, ra." He had a great fancy for a certain piece of soap,rnbut was always scolded when he tried to take it away. One day, when hernthought Mr. Bennett was too busy to observe him, he walked off with it,rncasting glances round to see if he were observed. When he had gone halfrnthe length of the cabin, Mr. Bennett gently called him; and he was sornconscience-stricken that he immediately returned the soap to its place,rnevidently knowing he had done wrong. He was very fond of sweetmeats; butrnalthough good friends with those who gave them to him, he would notrnsuffer them to take him in their arms, only allowing two persons to usernthat familiarity, and particularly avoiding large whiskers. He felt therncold extremely as he proceeded on his voyage, was attacked withrndysentery, and died as he came into a northern latitude.rnrnA female Gibbon was for some time exhibited in London, whose rapid andrnenormous springs verified the account given of her brethren by M.rnDuvaueel, who said that he had seen one of these animals clear a spacernof forty feet, receiving an impetus by merely touching the branch of arntree, and catching fruit as she sprang: the one in England could stoprnherself in the most sudden manner, and calculate her distances withrnsurprising accuracy. She uttered a cry of half tones, and ended with arndeafening shake, which was not unmusical. She made a chirping cry in thernmorning, supposed to be the call for her companions, beginning slowly,rnand ending by two barks, which sounded like the tenor E and its octave,rnat which time the poor thing became evidently agitated. She was,rngenerally speaking, very gentle, and much preferred ladies to gentlemen;rnbut if her confidence had been once acquired, she seemed to place asrnmuch reliance on a man as she bestowed unsolicited on a woman.rnrnMonkeys in India are more or less objects of superstitious reverence,rnand are, consequently, seldom, or ever destroyed. In some places theyrnare even fed, encouraged, and allowed to live on the roofs of thernhouses. If a man wish to revenge himself for any injury committed uponrnhim, he has only to sprinkle some rice or corn upon the top of hisrnenemy's house, or granary, just before the rains set in, and the monkeysrnwill assemble upon it, eat all they can find outside, and then pull offrnthe tiles to get at that which falls through the crevices. This, ofrncourse, gives access to the torrents which fall in such countries, andrnhouse, furniture, and stores are all ruined.rnrnThe large Banyan trees of the Old World are the favourite resorts ofrnmonkeys and snakes; and the former when they find one of the latterrnasleep, seize it by the neck, scramble from their branch, and dash thernreptile's head against a stone, all the time grinning with rage.rnrnThe Budeng of Java (Semnopithecus Maurus) abounds in the forests of thatrnisland, and flies from the presence of man, uttering the most fearfulrnscreams, and using the most violent gestures; but this is not arnfrequent antipathy, and there is an amusing account of the familiarityrnwhich monkeys assume with men, written by a traveller, who, probably,rnwas not a naturalist, for he does not give the technical appellation ofrnany of the species with which he meets in India. From what he says,rnhowever, I should suppose some of his heroes to be the same as thernMacacus Rhesus. He expresses his surprise, when he sees monkeys "atrnhome," for the first time, as being so different to the individuals onrnthe tops of organs, or in the menageries of Europe. Their air ofrnself-possession, comprehension, and right to the soil on which they livernis most amusing. From thirty to forty seated themselves to look at hisrnadvancing palanquin and bearers, just as villagers watch the strangernarrival going to "the squire's," and mingled with the inhabitants,rnjostling the naked children, and stretching themselves at full lengthrnclose to the seated human groups, with the most perfect freedom. Thisrnfreedom often amounts to impudence; and they frequent the tops ofrnbazaars, in order to steal all they can lay their hands upon below. Thernonly way to keep them off, is to cover the roof with a prickly shrub,rnthe thorns of which stick to the flesh like fishhooks. The abovernmentioned traveller watched one, which he calls a _bandar_, and whichrntook his station opposite to a sweetmeat shop. He pretended to bernasleep, but every now and then softly raised his head to look at therntempting piles and the owner of them, who sat smoking his pipe withoutrnsymptoms even of a dose. In half an hour the monkey got up, as if hernwere just awake, yawned, stretched himself, and took another position arnfew yards off, where he pretended to play with his tail, occasionallyrnlooking over his shoulder at the coveted delicacies. At length thernshop-man gave signs of activity, and the bandar was on the alert; the manrnwent to his back room, the bandar cleared the street at one bound, andrnin an instant stuffed his pouches full of the delicious morsels. He had,rnhowever, overlooked some hornets, which were regaling themselves at thernsame time. They resented his disturbance, and the tormented bandar, inrnhis hurry to escape, came upon a thorn-covered roof, where he lay,rnstung, torn, and bleeding. He spurted the stolen bon-bons from hisrnpouches, and barking hoarsely, looked the picture of misery. The noisernof the tiles which he had dislodged in his retreat brought out therninhabitants, and among them the vendor of sweets, with his turbanrnunwound, and streaming two yards behind him. All joined in laughing atrnthe wretched monkey; but their religious reverence for him induced themrnto go to his assistance; they picked out his thorns, and he limped awayrnto the woods quite crestfallen.rnrnThe traveller came in constant contact with monkeys in his occupationsrnof clearing land and planting, and at first, as he lay still among thernbrushwood, they gamboled round him as they would round the natives.rnThis peaceable state of things, however, did not last, when hernestablished a field of sugar-canes in the newly-cleared jungle. He tellsrnthe story so well, that I must be allowed to use his own expressions:--rnrn"Every beast of the field seemed leagued against this devoted patch ofrnsugar-cane. The wild elephants came, and browsed in it; the jungle hogsrnrooted it up, and munched it at their leisure; the jackals gnawed thernstalks into squash; and the wild deer ate the tops of the young plants.rnAgainst all these marauders there was an obvious remedy--to build arnstout fence round the cane field. This was done accordingly, and a deeprntrench dug outside, that even the wild elephant did not deem it prudentrnto cross.rnrn"The wild hogs came and inspected the trench and the palisades beyond. Arnbristly old tusker was observed taking a survey of the defenses; but,rnafter mature deliberation, he gave two short grunts, the porcinern(language), I imagined, for 'No go,' and took himself off at a roundrntrot, to pay a visit to my neighbour Ram Chunder, and inquire how hisrnlittle plot of sweet yams was coming on. The jackals sniffed at everyrncrevice, and determined to wait a bit; but the monkeys laughed the wholernintrenchment to scorn. Day after day was I doomed to behold my canesrndevoured, as fast as they ripened, by troops of jubilant monkeys. It wasrnof no use attempting to drive them away. When disturbed, they merelyrnretreated to the nearest tree, dragging whole stalks of sugar-cane alongrnwith them, and then spurted the chewed fragments in my face, as I lookedrnup at them. This was adding insult to injury, and I positively began torngrow blood-thirsty at the idea of being outwitted by monkeys. The casernbetween us might have been stated in this way.rnrn"'I have, at much trouble and expense, cleared and cultivated thisrnjungle land,' said I.rnrn"'More fool you,' said the monkeys.rnrn"'I have planted and watched over these sugar-canes.'rnrn"'Watched! ah, ha! so have we for the matter of that.'rnrn"'But, surely I have a right to reap what I sowed?'rnrn"'Don't see it,' said the monkeys; 'the jungle, by rights prescriptivernand indefensible, is ours, and has been so ever since the days of RamrnHonuman of the long tail. If you cultivate the jungle without ourrnconsent you must look to the consequences. If you don't like ourrncustoms, you may get about your business. We don't want you.'rnrn"I kept brooding over this mortifying view of the matter, until onernmorning I hatched revenge in a practicable shape. A tree, with about arnscore of monkeys on it, was cut down, and half-a-dozen of the youngestrnwere caught as they attempted to escape. A large pot of _ghow_ (treacle)rnwas then mixed with as much tartar emetic as could be spared from thernmedicine chest, and the young hopefuls, after being carefully paintedrnover with the compound, were allowed to return to their distressedrnrelatives, who, as soon as they arrived, gathered round them, andrncommenced licking them with the greatest assiduity. The results I hadrnanticipated were not long in making their appearance. A more melancholyrnsight it was impossible to behold; but so efficacious was thisrntreatment, that for more than two years I hardly ever saw a monkey inrnthe neighbourhood."rnrnWhen we read of the numbers, the intelligence, and the audacity ofrnmonkeys in this part of the world, it becomes a matter of curiousrnspeculation as to how they will behave when the railroad is made acrossrnIndia.rnrnIt has been frequently observed, that there is nothing more distressingrnthan to see a wounded or suffering monkey. He lays his hand upon thernpart affected, and looks up in your face, as if appealing to your kindlyrnfeelings; and if blood flow, he views it with so frightened anrnexpression, that he seems to know his life is going from him. Anrninquisitive monkey, among the numerous company which sailed in a ship,rnalways seemed desirous of ascertaining the nature of everything aroundrnhim, and touched, tasted, and closely scrutinized every object to whichrnhe had not been accustomed. A pot of scalding pitch was in use forrncaulking the seams of the upper deck, and when those who were employedrnin laying it upon the planks turned their heads from him, he dipped onernpaw into it, and carrying it to his chin, rubbed himself with therndestructive substance. His yell of pain called the attention of thernsailors to him, and they did all in their power to afford alleviation;rnthe pitch was taken off as well as it could be, his pouches beingrnentirely burnt away, his poor cheeks were wrapped up with rags steepedrnin turpentine; and his scalded hand was bandaged in the same manner. Hernwas a piteous sight, and seemed to look on all who came near, as ifrnasking for their commiseration. He was very gentle and very sad,rnsubmitted to be fed with sugar and water through a tube, but after a fewrndays he laid his head down and expired.rnrnMr. Forbes tells a story of a female monkey, (the SemnopithecusrnEntellus), who was shot by a friend of his, and carried to his tent.rnForty or fifty of her tribe advanced with menacing gestures, but stoodrnstill when the gentleman presented his gun at them. One, however, whornappeared to be the chief of the tribe, came forward, chattering andrnthreatening in a furious manner. Nothing short of firing at him seemedrnlikely to drive him away; but at length he approached the tent door withrnevery sign of grief and supplication, as if he were begging for thernbody. It was given to him, he took it in his arms, carried it away, withrnactions expressive of affection, to his companions, and with themrndisappeared. It was not to be wondered at that the sportsman vowed neverrnto shoot another monkey.rnrnMonkeys are eaten in some parts of the Old World, and universally inrnSouth America. M. Bonpland speaks of the flesh as lean, hard and dry;rnbut that which I tasted in Africa, was white, juicy, and like chicken.rnMr. Bowdich had monkeys served whole before him at the table of the kingrnof Ashanti, having been roasted in a sitting posture, and he said,rnnothing could be more horrid or repugnant than their appearance, withrnthe skin of the lips dried, and the white teeth, giving an aspect ofrngrinning from pain.rnrnThe howling monkeys of South America, who make the forests resound atrnnight, or before a coming storm, with their hideous choruses, and whosernhollow and enlarged tongue bone, and expanded lower jaw enable them tornutter those melancholy and startling cries, are larger and fatter thanrnmany others in the same country, and are constantly sought for as food.rnThey eat the thick, triangular Brazil nuts (Bertholletia Excelsa), andrnbreak the hard pod which contains them with a stone, laying it on thernbough of a tree, or some other stone. They sometimes get their tailrnbetween the two, of course the blow falls upon the tail, and the monkeyrnbounds away, howling in the most frightful manner.rnrnThe prettiest of all monkeys is the Marmozet; the Ouistiti of Buffon;rnthe Simia Jacchus of Linnaeus. It is extremely sensitive to cold;rnnevertheless, if plentifully supplied with wool, cotton, and other warmrnmaterials, will live for years in this climate. Dr. Neill of Edinburgh,rnthat most excellent protector and lover of animals, brought one fromrnBahia, which he found great difficulty in training. It even resistedrnthose who fed it, not allowing them to touch it, putting on an angry,rnsuspicious look, and being roused by even the slightest whisper. Duringrnthe voyage it ate corn and fruit, and when these became scarce, took torncockroaches; of which it cleared the vessel. It would dispatch twentyrnlarge, besides smaller ones, three or four times in each day, nippingrnoff the head of the former, and rejecting the viscera, legs, and hardrnwing cases. Besides these, it fed on milk, sugar, raisins, andrnbread-crumbs. It afterwards made friends with a cat, and slept and eatrnwith this animal, but it never entirely lost its distrustful feelings.rnrnLieutenant Edwards, in his voyage up the Amazon, mentions a domesticrnwhite monkey, which had contrived to get to the top of a house, and nornpersuasions or threats could get him down again. He ran over the roof,rndisplaced the tiles, peeped into the chambers below (for there are nornceilings in that country), and when called, put his thumb up to hisrnnose. He was shot at with corn, but having found a rag, he held it uprnbefore him, and so tried to evade the shot; every now and then peepingrnover the top. At last he was left to himself; and when no endeavoursrnwere made to get him down, he came of his own accord. Captain Brownrnmentions a monkey, who, when he was troublesome in the cabin of a ship,rnwas fired at with gunpowder and currant jelly; and in order to defendrnhimself, used to pick up the favorite monkey, and hold him between thernpistol and himself when it was presented.rnrnA race of animals exists in Madagascar, and some of the Eastern islands,rnto which the name of Maki has been given, and which, although differingrnin the formation of the skull and teeth, must, from having four hands,rnbe placed among the Quadrumana. They are nocturnal in their habits, veryrngentle and confiding, with apparently one exception, which is called thernVari. M. Frederic Cuvier has told us, that two of these being shut up inrna cage together, one killed and eat his companion, leaving nothing butrnthe skin. Two of them are remarkable for their slow, deliberaternmovements; and one of them, named the Lemur Tardigradus, was procuredrnat Prince of Wales's Island by Mr. Baird. He tells us that his eyesrnshone brightly in the dark, and that he moved his eyelids diagonally,rninstead of up and down. He had two tongues, one rough like that of arncat, the other narrow and sharp, and both projected at the same time,rnunless he chose to retain the latter. He generally slept rolled up likerna ball, with his arms over his head, taking hold of his cage. He and arndog lived together in the same cage, and a great attachment subsistedrnbetween them; but nothing could reconcile him to a cat, which constantlyrnjumped over his back, thereby causing him great annoyance.rnrnI cannot better close this notice of Monkeys than by giving a curiousrnlegend which is told in Northwestern Africa, and which is more uncommonrnthan the belief, which is to be found in most countries, that "monkeysrncan talk if they like, but they won't, for fear white men should makernthem work." It was related by the negroes to each other with infiniternhumour; the different voices of the characters were assumed, and therngestures and countenance were in accordance with the tale.rnrn"There was once a big and a strong man, who was a cook, and he married arnwoman who thought herself very much above him, so she only accepted himrnon condition that she should never be asked to go into the cook-housern(kitchen), but live in a separate dwelling. They were married, and allrnthe house he had for her was the kitchen; but she did not at firstrncomplain, because she was afraid to make her husband unhappy. At lastrnshe became so tired of her life, that she began to find fault; but atrnfirst was very gentle. At last she scolded incessantly, and the man, tornkeep her quiet, told her he would go to the bush (forest), and fetchrnwood to build her a new house. He went away, and in a few hours broughtrnsome wood. The next day his wife told him to go and fetch some more.rnAgain he went away, stayed all day, and only brought home a few sticks,rnwhich made her so angry, that she took the biggest and beat him with it.rnThe man went away a third time, and stayed all night, not bringing homernany wood at all, saying that the trees which he had cut down were sornheavy that he could not bring them all the way. Then he went and stayedrntwo days and nights, which made his wife very unhappy. She cried veryrnmuch, intreated him not to leave her, promised not to scold or beat himrnany more, and to live contentedly in the kitchen; but he answered 'No!rnyou made me go to the bush, now I like the bush very much, and I shallrngo and stop there for ever.' So saying, he rushed out of the cook-houserninto the bush, where he turned into a monkey, and from him came allrnother monkeys."