THE DOG-SHAPED MONKEYS (_continued_). THE GUENONS.[39]
THE GUENONS--Where they are Found--Early Notices of
them--Resemblance to the Colobi and Macaques--Distinctive
Peculiarity of the Group--Often seen in Menageries--Their Terror
of Snakes--Peculiar Expression of the Face--Beauty of their
Skins--Minor Divisions of the Guenons--THE DIANA MONKEY--Origin of
the Name--Anecdotes of their Mischief--THE MONA MONKEY--Description
of one at Paris--THE WHITE-NOSED MONKEY--Origin of the Name--THE
TALAPOIN--Anatomical Peculiarities--THE GREEN MONKEY--Found
in Senegal in abundance--THE RED-BELLIED MONKEY--THE RED
MONKEY--Observed by Bruce--THE MANGABEY--Singularity of its
Appearance--Special Structural Peculiarities.
There are vast numbers of Monkeys living in the African forests which
resemble, to a certain extent, those described in the last chapter,
but which have such important differences in their construction that
they are separated from them, and collected in another genus. They are
said only to range in Abyssinia to the Zambesi and from the Gambia to
the Congo, but probably all the equatorial parts of the Continent are
frequented by them, and they extend far south. They are not found in
Madagascar, and, of course, they do not frequent desert places or rocky
treeless districts.
Being very numerous, and extremely impudent, as a rule, and full
of grimace and mischief, they soon attracted the attention of the
ancients, and the beauty of the fur of some made them all the more
prized. Hence they were caught, figured, and sent as presents to
distant kingdoms. The ancient Egyptians knew of one, which at the
present time is found in Nubia, and which is often brought to Europe,
being called the Grivet. They engraved it in the catacombs of Ghizeh,
whence the figure was described by Denon, and Ehrenberg and De
Blainville have drawn it as represented mounted on the long neck of a
Camelopard. Many coloured drawings of Egyptian origin also represent
a Monkey on all-fours, with a tail curved over its back, and this is
probably one of those about to be considered.
They are still called _Keb_ or _Kep_ in the East of Africa, and they
are doubtless the κῆβος of the Greeks. Aristotle says for certain that
the Cebus, as it was translated by the Latins, is an Ape with a tail.
Modern naturalists, having become acquainted with many of these species
closely resembling each other in some important particulars, have
arranged them all under the term Cercopithecus from κέρκος (a tail),
and πίθηκος (an ape). The grimaces and odd gestures of these Monkeys
have given to them the name of Guenons, and this term is now used
accordingly.
At first sight they resemble the Colobi, inasmuch as they have long
bodies, long hind legs, and long tails, but the fore limbs are short in
the Guenons, and the tail, which is as long or longer than the body, is
stout and not slender. Moreover, they have well-made and exceedingly
useful cheek-pouches, besides the callosities behind. The face of the
Guenons is long, and rounded, and the eyes are somewhat prominent. On
examining the inside of one of these particularly African species the
stomach is found to be single, and not to resemble that of the genera
last described, and on looking at the lower jaw it will be found that
the last crushing teeth on each side have only four points, or cusps,
and not five, as in Semnopitheci. The wearing of the first premolar
tooth next to the lower dog tooth, and behind it, resembles somewhat
that noticed before, and which will be described in treating of the
Inui, or Macaques, in the next chapter. The hands and feet are well
grown, and the thumbs are long and useful.
So that the distinctive peculiarity, or what is called the _diagnosis_
of the group, or genus Cercopithecus is--Monkeys with long hind and
short fore limbs, and with long tails, cheek-pouches, single stomachs,
and callosities, there being only four cusps on the last lower molar
teeth.
[Illustration: DIANA MONKEY.]
Many of the Guenons are often seen in menageries and zoological
gardens, or as the more or less unwilling companions of organ-grinders;
and their trick of crowding everything into their mouth, and allowing
it to distend the cheeks, is sure to be noticed. The quantity of nuts
which can be stored away is enough for a good meal; and hence these
Monkeys are not only good purveyors for themselves, but great robbers
of the riches of cultivators. In the wild state they assemble in troops
in the forest, for they are essentially tree dwellers, and make raids
on all sides of their favourite home, moving with such rapidity under
the shadow of leaves and boughs that they are rarely seen by men. In
their own little tract of forest they are very noisy and restless;
they chase away in a body all intruding Monkeys, and whilst the more
aged spend their time in more or less restless movement, in occasional
family jars, and in picking the insects from their young and from each
other, the juvenile part of the troop are full of play, mischief,
and wanton aggression upon the quietude of their elders. A Snake may
appear, and there is a terrible noise made, and a general rush off out
of danger, the little ones clinging to the fur of the mother, and being
carried off safely in spite of her bounds and jumps from tree to tree.
Or a Leopard may make a spring, and not always fruitlessly, and great
is the surrounding howling and grimacing at it. The hatred of Snakes
is carried into their captivity; and Mr. Darwin having read Brehm’s
account of the instinctive fear which his Monkeys had of Serpents, and
also of their great curiosity regarding snake-like things and their
doings, took a stuffed Snake to the Monkey-house of the Zoological
Gardens. The excitement which was produced, he writes, was one of the
most curious spectacles ever beheld. Three species of Cercopithecus
were the most alarmed. They darted about their cages, and uttered sharp
cries of danger, which were understood by the other Monkeys. A few
young Monkeys and an old Anubis Baboon alone took no notice of the
Snake. He then placed the stuffed specimen on the ground in one of the
larger compartments. After a time all the Monkeys collected round it
in a large circle, and staring intently, presented a most ludicrous
appearance. They became extremely nervous, so that when a wooden ball
with which they were familiar as a plaything was accidentally moved
in the straw under which it was partly hidden, they all instantly
started away. These monkeys behaved very differently when a fish,
a mouse, and some other new objects were placed in the cage; for
though at first frightened they soon approached, handled and examined
them. He then placed a living Snake in a paper bag, with the mouth
closed loosely, in one of the larger compartments. One of the Monkeys
immediately approached, cautiously opened the bag a little, peeped in,
and instantly dashed away. Then he witnessed what Brehm has described,
for Monkey after Monkey with head raised high, and turned on one side,
could not resist taking momentary peeps into the upright bag at the
dreadful creature lying at the bottom.
It would appear as if Monkeys had some notion of zoological affinities,
for those kept by Brehm exhibited a strange though mistaken instinctive
dread of innocent Lizards and Frogs.
[Illustration: FACE OF THE DIANA MONKEY.]
Birds of prey attack them, and not always with a successful result;
and there is a story of a little Guenon being darted at by an Eagle,
who swooped down and struck it, but it did not get off, for a rush was
made against the bird by several of the active elders, and they not
only held it, but nearly plucked off all its feathers, so that when it
got away it remembered for ever after the treatment it received. The
Guenons are very choleric, and the expression of the face and of the
mouth, and the shrill sounds which are emitted when they are angered,
would probably be accompanied by extremely bad language were they men;
but their rage is soon over, and some mutual tail-pulling and biting
are the worst part of it. There is a curious defiant look about the
eyes of some, with or without extreme restlessness of them; they seem
to be the very embodiment of cunning and sharpness, and this look
is really very peculiar to the group. By way of additional force of
expression, those which are very fond of fighting with their teeth have
the power of drawing back their ears like angry Dogs; and this is done
by the action of a muscle which springs from the ear-bone behind the
ear, and is attached to it behind. There is just a rudiment of this
muscle in man. Usually very good-tempered when young, like all the
Quadrumana, they grow cross, savage, and uncertain in temper when old;
there are some exceptions to this, but, on the other hand, so savage do
some of them become, that breaking or removing their great upper canine
teeth appears to be the only way of making them behave at all properly.
The loss of these fine weapons of offence has a most humiliating effect
on the most insolent and petulant of them. Many are very pretty, and
are as elaborately coloured as the Douc, that prince of beautiful
Semnopitheci; and this leads to their destruction, for every now
and then, besides the native desire to have some fine Monkey skins,
European ladies desire Monkey muffs, and many an irascible chatterer
out of the woods of Western Africa has its skin paraded by the fashion.
Bright red, green, fawn, yellow, and white colours are constantly mixed
up with black shades, and every tint of grey is clotted here and there.
The hair is longer in some parts than in others, especially about the
cheeks and chin; one has a white spot on its nose, another has white
moustaches, and a third a white band across the forehead. And these
tints, and the disproportion of the long hairs, have served to identify
the different kinds.
The Guenons occasionally breed in menageries, and thus opportunities
have been afforded of watching their treatment of, and method of
educating, their little ones. One in Paris had three baby Monkeys, one
after the other, and succeeded in rearing one, the others dying. She
constantly carried it, holding it close to her, so that its little
mouth was always close to the breast; but after a while, as it became
stronger, it clung on by itself, holding on fast with its hands to
the mother’s fur, and helped itself whenever it thought fit. Then the
mother appeared to pay no especial attention to the little one, and
jumped and rushed about as if it had not the little burden. The father
was anything but paternal, and boldly neglected the education of his
child; in fact, he was quite indifferent to the mother as well, and
even behaved brutally by seeking to quarrel with her. Once or twice he
maltreated her, and pinched the baby, so he was locked up by himself.
This careless treatment doubtless accounts for the rapid independence
of the young of the Guenons, who soon retaliate on their fathers and
mothers for all the enjoyments they did not have at their hands, by
endless teasings and scoldings. But all Monkeys are not thus unpaternal
and unnatural, and the Baboon is singularly affectionate. At the time
that the Grivet--the above-mentioned Guenon--was seen in one cage
outraging all good feeling, two Chacma Baboons were in another, and the
difference in their behaviour was most edifying. In the one cage sat
the solitary mother and its offspring, the father having been removed
for his bad temper and brutal conduct; and in the other were several
male Baboons surrounding two Baboon mothers and their two little ones,
caressing the mothers with the most pronounced evidence of tenderness
of feeling, taking them in their arms and pressing them to their
hearts, and embracing them in a manner quite human. They squabbled
about who was to have the pleasure of carrying the Baboon babies, and
after having passed them from one to the other, returned each one to
its own mother.
As these Guenons walk on all-fours and but rarely take on the erect
posture, which, moreover, they cannot maintain, their muscles are
not exactly the same as in the Troglodytes and Orangs, but they
resemble those of the Semnopitheci. The Guenons, like the Macaques and
Baboons--those great runners on all-fours--have a special muscle to
assist in pulling the shoulder-blade forward, and thus to assist the
forward motion of the body. Then, in order to drag the elbow backwards
in moving on all-fours, and to assist also in climbing, one of the
large muscles of the back sends a slip to the back of the elbow.
Climbing is also assisted by an addition to the gluteal or buttock
muscles, which is called the scansorius or climbing muscle. And in the
foot the front muscle of the leg has two masses; one sends a tendon
which goes to the inner and front bone of the ankle, and the other
right under the foot to the inner side of the long bone (metatarsal),
which supports the toe-thumb.
The result of its action is to turn in the foot with a view to holding
on. Finally, the two long muscles which flex or bend down the toe-thumb
and the other toes are not separate, but are connected by their
tendons. So that there is not great independence of the toe-thumb,
but all the toes act more or less simultaneously very readily. But
the other muscles of it give it more mobility than in man. Their
muscular energy is immense, and their power of using the thumb is very
considerable, and they pick out each other’s vermin with well-known
ease.
In separating the numerous kinds of Guenons into kinds or species,
paying a good amount of attention to their internal as well as external
structures, that is to say, to their teeth and skull, as well as to
their form, it becomes evident that some large ones form a group
which closely resemble the others, but which still have more general
likeness to the Monkeys which form the subject of the next chapter--the
Macaques. These have been placed in a separate genus, but the necessity
for doing so is not apparent, especially when the principles of the
true nature of classification have been thoroughly comprehended. So the
so-called genus Cercocebus (κέρκος, tail; κῆβας, monkey) is omitted,
and the Monkeys included in it by some authors are to be considered
as the kinds which link on the Baboons and Macaques to the Guenons.
Besides these, some Guenons are stronger and stouter than others, their
skins being green, or tinted more or less with that colour, and another
is of a bright red colour. So that several sets of the Guenons may be
established for the sake of convenience--1. The smaller kinds usually
with prominent white markings. 2. One having a green skin and a black
nose, and only three points or cusps on its hind lower molars. 3. The
larger kinds with decidedly green tints, one being bright red. 4. And
the group often called Cercocebus, which resemble the others, but have
a fifth cusp on the last lower grinder on each side.
Amongst the first kind the Diana Monkey is very well known, and
visitors to the Monkey-house in the Zoological Gardens in the Regent’s
Park usually pay much attention to this most determined and pretty romp.
THE DIANA MONKEY.[40]
This native of Western Africa inhabits the woods of the Guinea Coast,
and of the banks of the Congo, and it is found in the island of
Fernando Po. It was known to European naturalists before the year 1700,
and it has always been prized for its pretty fur and gay temper.
The goddess Diana has been honoured by being associated with
this Monkey on account of a crescent-shaped white band of long
hair stretching across the forehead (she being goddess of the
crescent-shaped moon). It is about eighteen inches long when full
grown, and the tail is longer than the body, and the fur is very
pretty. The crescent of white hairs has dark edges, and the top of the
head is broad and dull grey, spotted with green; the ears are dark and
the face also; and the beard and whiskers are white, and the first of
these projects like a goat’s. The broad and upper chest is white, and
this colour is continued under the arms, which at their termination
are black-grey. The middle of the back is a dark red-brown, and the
belly is white with orange tints, and these colours are continued down
the inside of the thighs. Outside these and the flanks are ash-grey
and greenish. As another Monkey from the same region has a white band
across the forehead, the Diana has been confounded with it, and hence
very different descriptions of the colouring will be obtained by
reading different authors, and even F. Cuvier jumbled the Diana and
this Diadem Monkey together. Very little is known about them in their
wild state, and in captivity they show very adverse dispositions;
sometimes they are gay and full of fun, and at others morose and
snappish. We once saw one of them in its cage in the Zoological Gardens
pull its mate, a small Sykes’ Monkey, from the top to the bottom by a
well-directed pull of the tail, and the proceeding reminded one of a
very energetic mistress, whose servants were inattentive, tugging at
a bell-rope. The puller was chattering and grimacing at his visitors
all the time that the pulled was hanging on to everything that came in
its way during its forced descent; and when it came to the bottom it
scrambled about and rushed up to its little house again as if it were a
frequent and unwilling exercise. The Diana also stole its companion’s
food, such as a piece of apple, by putting her arms around its neck,
and squeezing the morsel against its nose, so that it was obliged to
drop it.
Mrs. Bowditch, in describing her voyage home from Western Africa, gives
an interesting account of a Diana Monkey which was on board. “We made
acquaintance,” she says, “very suddenly, and, to me, disagreeably, for
I had not till then conquered the foolish aversion with which these
animals always inspired me. It was a dead calm, the wheel was lashed,
and all, save myself, below--nothing round us but sea and sky, and
I had sheltered myself with a book in a corner protected from the
equatorial sun. Suddenly, and without noise, something leaped upon my
shoulders, and the tail which encircled my throat convinced me that Mr.
Jack was my assailant. My first impulse was to beat him off, in which
case I should probably have received some injury; but fortunately I
sat perfectly still, and twisting himself round he brought his face
opposite to mine and stared at me. I endeavoured to speak kindly to
him, upon which he grinned and chattered, seated himself on my knees,
and carefully examined my hands. He then tried to pull off my rings,
and was proceeding to a bite for this purpose when I gave him some
biscuit which happened to lie beside me, and making a bed for him with
a handkerchief he settled himself comfortably to sleep, and from that
moment we were sworn allies. The amusement afforded to me and others
by Jack made him tolerated when his mischievous propensities would
otherwise have condemned him to perpetual confinement. He was often
banished to an empty hen-coop, but as this made no impression upon him
I always tried to prevent it, which he knew so well that when he had
done wrong he either hid himself or sought refuge near me. Much more
effect was produced by taking him within sight of the Panther, who
always seemed most willing to devour him. On these occasions I held him
by the tail in front of the cage, but long before I reached it, knowing
where he was going, he pretended to be dead--his eyes were closed quite
fast, and every limb was as stiff as if there were no life in him. When
taken away he would open one eye a little to see whereabouts he might
be, but if he caught a glimpse of the cage it was instantly closed, and
he became as stiff as before. He clambered into the hammocks, stole
the men’s knives, tools, handkerchiefs, and even the nightcaps off
their heads, all of which went into the sea. When biscuit was toasting
between the bars of the caboose, and the dried herbs boiling in the
tin mugs, he would take the former out and carry it away, and take out
the latter and trail them along the planks; if he burnt his hands he
desisted for a day or two; and he often regaled the Parrots with the
biscuit, biting it in small pieces, and feeding them with the utmost
gravity. At other times he would knock their cages over, lick up the
water thus spilled, eat the lumps of sugar, and pull the birds’ tails:
and in this manner he killed a beautiful green Pigeon belonging to the
steward, a specimen of which I never saw in any collection. For this he
was flogged and imprisoned three days; and half an hour after he was
let out I met him scampering round the deck with two blue-faced Monkeys
on his back, which he often carried about in this manner. When he
thought fit to ride, he would watch behind a cask on the days the Pigs
were let loose, dart on to their backs as they passed, dig his nails
into them to keep himself on, and the faster they ran and the more they
squealed the happier he seemed to be. His most important misdemeanours,
however, were performed to the injury of his fellow Monkeys, of whom
he was very jealous. The smaller ones were very obsequious to him,
and when he called them by a peculiar noise, they came, hanging their
heads and looking very submissive, and in one week two were drowned
out of sheer malice. I saw him throw the first overboard, and the poor
little thing swam after us some time, but the ship was going too fast
for even a rope to be effectually thrown out in the hope he would cling
to it. During one of the calms we so often met with, the men had been
painting the outside of the ship, and leaving their pots and brushes
on the deck, went down to dinner. No one was above but myself, the
helmsman, and Jack. The latter beckoned and coaxed a black Monkey to
him; then seizing him by the neck, took a brushful of white paint, and
deliberately covered him with it in every direction. The helmsman and I
burst into a laugh, upon which Jack, dropping his victim, flew up the
rigging into the maintop, where he stood with his black nose between
the bars peeping at what was going on below. The little metamorphosed
beast began licking himself, but the steward being summoned, he washed
him with turpentine, and no harm was sustained. Many attempts were
made to catch the rogue aloft, but he eluded all, and when he was
driven down by hunger, he watched his opportunity and sprang from one
of the ropes on to my lap, where he knew he should be safe. I fed
and interceded for him, so he escaped with only a scolding, which he
received with an appearance of shame which in him was rather ludicrous.”
THE MONA MONKEY.[41]
The term Mona means tailed Apes or Monkeys, and it has been especially
given to one from Senegal, which has some resemblance to the Diana,
and it is mentioned here with a view of illustrating its mental
peculiarities. They are more beautiful in colour and more elegant in
form than the Diana, and they are sometimes more gentle, sagacious, and
sharp than any other kind. F. Cuvier describes one which was a great
favourite in the collection at Paris. Upon his arrival he was extremely
young, and his gentleness and total want of malice and petulance gained
him the free range of the apartment. Age did not alter the excellence
of his disposition; and as he increased in age and strength, his
address and agility became unparalleled. Yet all his motions were
gentle, and his actions circumspect; he was persevering in his wants
and wishes, but never violent in the attempt to enforce them. When
after much solicitation his requests were refused, he would go off in
a gambol, and find entertainment in some new object. He had no idea of
property, but took every thing that pleased him, even such articles
as had previously caused him punishment, and he committed his thefts
with dexterity and silence. He would open locks wherein the key had
been left, untie knots, open the links of a chain, and search pockets
with so much address that you did not feel his hand there, although
conscious of the fact that he was thieving. The examination of pockets
was his favourite occupation, doubtless from expecting to find food.
He was not very affectionate, but when tranquil, and not engaged, he
received caresses with pleasure. When tempted to play he signified his
assent by many graceful motions; he would throw himself into all sorts
of graceful attitudes, bite gently, press himself against you, and
give out a gentle cry. He never made grimaces, but, on the contrary,
his countenance was always calm, and frequently serious. He looked a
perfect angel of a Monkey in his beautiful fur; his hair was of a
brilliant golden green, the back and sides were rich brown, variegated
with black, the outer part of the limbs and tail were slate-coloured
grey, while the neck, chest, and underneath were pure shining white.
He had ears and hands of a flesh-colour, and there was a black band
stretched across the forehead, surmounted by a crescent-shaped stripe
of grey.
[Illustration: WHITE-NOSED MONKEY.]
Probably its French education may have had something to do with its
politeness and gentleness, for one of these pretty creatures which was
kept in the Zoological Gardens was one of the most ill-conditioned
savage beasts ever seen--quite a diabolical Monkey. This Monkey does
not appear to have the air sac in the neck which is common to the
Guenons, as well as to the other Monkeys already noticed.
THE WHITE-NOSED MONKEY.[42]
The word “petaurista” is the Latin for “one that showeth tricks of
activity, from a machine suspended,” according to old dictionaries, so
this Monkey with a white nose has its abilities properly designated.
Some call it the Vaulting Monkey, but in the Zoological Gardens its
wonderful agility is shown by its scampering up the side, over the
top, and down the opposite side of its cage in a kind of continuous
somersault. Coming down on all-fours with a bang, it does the same
thing over and over again to attract attention, and it seems as if
it were moving in the inside of a wheel. The dab of white on the nose
distinguishes it, and it comes from that paradise of Monkeys the Guinea
Coast and the adjoining districts.
The only one of the second group to be mentioned is
THE TALAPOIN.[43]
This is a rather rare animal, and comes from the west coast of Africa,
having been sent to Europe from the Gaboon. It is a pretty little
creature (probably the smallest of these Monkeys), and is extremely
gentle and intelligent. The skin is green, and the lower part of the
body and the under part of the limbs are white. It has large ears, a
black nose, and it has a kind of broad “brutus” on the forehead.
There are some very interesting points about this little thing, which,
in nearly all its construction, is like the rest of the Cercopitheci,
or Guenons, but it has a large brain, a short muzzle, a thick, long
partition in its nose, and only three points, or cusps, instead of
four, on its last lower hind grinders.
[Illustration: HEAD AND SHOULDERS OF THE TALAPOIN.]
So far as is known, there are no differences between the habits of
this little Monkey and the others from the west coast of Africa,
and therefore its intelligence and deficiencies are sufficiently
incomprehensible; but they exhibit a fact of great importance, of
which a hint was given in the conclusion of the description of the
Mona Monkey. In the Talapoin, the last lower grinder differs from
that of all Monkeys by the absence of an important part of its usual
structure, and in the Mona the great air sac, which is in communication
with the windpipe in most other Monkeys, is absent. This fact may be
stated as follows:--That in animals closely resembling others of their
group or genus material deficiencies in construction suddenly appear.
Corresponding to these deficiencies are the absence of all or a great
part of tail in genera the majority of whose species have a tail, and
the inference to be drawn is that, notwithstanding all the members or
species of a genus are related by a common ancestry, the descendants
of a well-marked stock may exhibit peculiarities of structure which
are not produced by alterations in the habits or surroundings of the
animals.
Such peculiar structures often relate to a remote ancestor, and it is
remarkable that in the case of this Talapoin they give it a very faint
resemblance to the American Monkeys.
Some naturalists separate the Talapoin from the genus, and classify it
in one of its own under the title Myiopithecus.
The third group of the Guenons is represented by the well-known Monkey
called
THE GREEN MONKEY.[44]
It has its classical name from two words which mean beauty and hair
(κάλλος and θρίξ-τρίχος), and it must not be confounded with the
Callitricha of Buffon, which is the same as the Grivet Monkey whose
figure was drawn by the Egyptians.
[Illustration: GORILLA. (_See pp. 6–30._)
(_From the Living Specimen in the Zoological Gardens, London._)]
The Green Monkeys live in Senegal, and extend as far south as the
River Niger, for it was on the borders of that river that Adanson,
a French naturalist, noticed their collecting in great troops. The
little Monkeys were astonished at his appearance, and as they rushed
off into the forest they broke off, either purposely or by accident,
little branches from the tops of the trees, whose falling relieved the
stillness of the woods. He indulged in some very cruel sport at their
expense, for although they had been so silent and noiseless in their
gambols, he shot one or two without the others being frightened. But
when the greater part were more or less wounded, they began to get
under cover from the shot, some to swing behind large branches, some
coming to the ground, and the majority jumping from the top of one
tree to another. Whilst this little scene (_petite manège_) was going
on, this scientific brute still continued to fire on them, and finally
he killed twenty-three in less than half an hour. This he did in the
space of about one hundred and thirty feet, and yet not one screamed,
although they often assembled together, knitting their brows and
grinding their teeth, as if they intended to attack him. Broderip, in
noticing this, writes, “I wish they had, with all my heart.”
They have in common with the other Guenons a fondness for particular
parts of their forests, and one band will prevent another from entering
its favourite haunts and this regard for companionship and locality
is even seen when they are in captivity. Restless, irritable, and
irascible they are ever at play, and fighting among themselves, but
they will turn to expel a stranger.
It is said that this Monkey has obtained an American home, and that it
was introduced with slaves into the Island of St. Kitts. Many escaped
into the woods, and have increased considerably in number, so as often
to pillage the plantations.
We introduce a kind here whose elegance of colour is great, principally
to give a good notion of the general aspects of the Guenons, when not
on all-fours, and also of the furtive look in the eyes of tamed kinds.
THE RED-BELLIED MONKEY.[45]
When living at the Zoological Gardens, in the Regent’s Park, this
pretty Monkey, with a red chest and belly, and slim tail, was very
timid, but it liked to be petted by the keeper, being somewhat
distrustful of its more romping companions. It would take food out of
his hand, and seemed pleased, and generally played with, his fingers,
without attempting to bite. The canine teeth were very moderately grown.
This Monkey inhabits western Africa, and is at once known by the red
belly and chest, the white beard and whiskers, and the black band
across the forehead. It has, moreover, a yellow crown.
THE RED, OR PATAS MONKEY.[46]
The delicate red ground-colour of this Monkey readily distinguishes
it from its more favoured allies. One in the Zoological Gardens
is wonderfully human in the expression of its face and beautiful
sad-looking large eyes. Its pale lips, eyelids, and cheeks, and the
broadish pale forehead, with a slightly ridged nose, add to its
appearance of suffering. It has a moustache, a few hairs on its nose,
and whiskers, which are very cleanly kept in the proper whisker-line.
The hair of the forehead forms a counter-curve, whose peak is just in
the centre. Altogether it is a very pretty animal.
Bruce, the African traveller, when in Western Africa, took that trouble
which is very rarely done by distinguished travellers in Africa, and
observed Monkeys in a state of nature--the Red Monkey in particular.
It is strange, considering the omnipresence of the Monkey element,
that one may look over volume after volume of African travels, and
very rarely meet with a note or word about them; but such is the
case. So our obligation to Bruce is great. He says they descended in
troops from the tops of the trees to the extremities of the branches,
earnestly noticing, and apparently much amused by, the boats, as they
passed along the river. They then began to take courage, and pelt the
passengers with pieces of wood, this provoking a most unequal combat.
When fired upon, they uttered the most frightful cries, and although
many fell, the survivors seemed by no means willing to relinquish the
contest; on the contrary, they redoubled their efforts. Some flung
stones at their adversaries, while others collected something very
nasty as a missile; all, in short, displayed a determination of spirit
which must at all times render them formidable to opponents of weaker
powers than themselves.
The last group of the Guenons are often called the Mangabeys, from
a mistaken notion that they come from Madagascar. But there are no
Monkeys in that great island, whose forests are peopled by Lemurs
instead.
[Illustration: RED-BELLIED MONKEY. (_From the Proceedings of the
Zoological Society._)]
THE MANGABEY, OR WHITE-EYELID MONKEY.[47]
The general colour of this Monkey is a reddish-brown, which becomes
decidedly red on the top of the head. There is a white band between the
eyes, which is continued to each side of the back of the neck. A second
kind has grey slaty-brown tints, without the white spot.
One thing strikes the observer at once, and that is the very affected
way in which the Monkey sits, with its eyelids half closed; and as the
upper ones are dead-white, they look almost like doll’s eyelids, and as
if they did not belong to it.
They are extremely restless, and are fond of placing themselves in
curious attitudes, and so full of antics are they that it has been
erroneously imagined that they really have more joints and muscles
than the most agile of their allies. They are fond of carrying their
tails reversed, so as to be on a line parallel with the top of
the back, and their common expression of disgust is to show their
teeth by raising the upper lip. It is always droll, frolicsome, and
good-natured. Sir William Jardine mentions a female in Mr. Wombwell’s
Menagerie that was most lively, and Broderip says:--“She performed many
of the attitudes of the most experienced harlequins, and was remarkably
cleanly and careful not to soil her person. When feeding, she seldom
put her head to the food or dish, but lifted and conveyed it to her
mouth. She was very fond of bread, milk, and vegetables, and of carrots
especially.” He gives a figure of her--no easy task, for she was
never at rest for one moment, and her celerity was increased when she
perceived she was noticed.
[Illustration: MANGABEY.]
The Mangabeys are all African, and are peculiarised by having a fifth
cusp, or point, to the last crushing tooth on each side of the lower
jaw, as in Semnopithecus. Now, they have no other resemblance to
Semnopithecus, and all their structural peculiarities are those of the
Guenons. They have, however, the web between the fingers carried as far
forward as the first joint, and the hair comes close to the knuckles
and the beginning of the short thumb. In the foot the toe-thumb is
large, and, as usual, widely separate from the toes, the second and
third of which are united by a web, which reaches almost to the last
joint near the tips, and the third, fourth, and fifth are united by
smaller webs, Evidently the peculiar crushing teeth of the Mangabey
are a relic of an ancestral character, and we must look in some lower
tribes for a corresponding arrangement, and in this we are assisted by
the nature of the face, for the muzzle is rather projecting. In fact,
they somewhat, resemble the Macaques, or Inui, which will be considered
next.
[Illustration: FOOT AND HAND OF THE MANGABEY.]
It is extremely interesting to find in Africa, and in the same parts
of it, Monkeys living in the same forests, on the same kind of food,
and exposed to the same climate and dangers, differing so wonderfully
in their colour and disposition. The difference has been caused by
something more than adaptation to ends. Again, it is curious to note
the different arrangements of the dental structure in the group amongst
animals eating the same food and stowing it away in pouches.[48]