Chapter 6

[N]According to Pennant this hair is of a reddish colour, and shaggy.

THE PITHECOS, OR PIGMY.

ARISTOTLE says, “there are animals whose nature are ambiguous, and partake, in some measure, of the human and quadruped species; such as the pithecos, the kebes, and the cynocephali. The kebe is a pithecos witha tail; the cynocephalus is perfectly like the pithecos, but larger, stronger, and has a more pointed muzzle, approaching very near that of a bull-dog, from which it derives its name: its manners are also more ferocious, and its teeth stronger than those of the pithecos, and more resemble those of a dog.” It is clear, from this passage, that neither the pithecos nor cynocephalus, mentioned by Aristotle, have any tail; for he says, that the pithecos with a tail, is calledkebe; and that the cynocephalus resembles the pithecos in every particular, except the muzzle and teeth. Aristotle, therefore, speaks of two apes without tails, the pithecos and the cynocephalus; and of others with tails, which he callskebes. Now, to compare what we at present know with what was known by Aristotle, we shall observe, that we have seen three species of apes without tails, namely, the orang-outang, the gibbon, and the magot, not one of which is the pithecos; for the two first were certainly unknown to Aristotle, being only found in the southern parts of Africa and India, which were not discovered till after his time: besides, they have very different characters from those he ascribes to the pithecos. But the third species, which we call the magot, orBarbary ape, is the cynocephalus of Aristotle, for it possesses all its characters; it has no tail, its muzzle is like that of a bull-dog, and its canine teeth are large and long. This animal is also found in Asia Minor, and in other provinces of the East, and with which the Greeks were well acquainted. The pithecos belongs to the same country, but we have not seen it, and know it only from the relations of travellers, and, although during twenty years, in which we have made the research of these animals our study, this species has not fallen under our inspection, yet we do not doubt but that it as really exists as the cynocephalus. Gesner and Johnston have given figures of this pithecos. M. Brisson mentions his having seen it, and he distinguishes it from the cynocephalus, which he also saw, and confirms Aristotle’s remark that these two animals perfectly resemble each other in every respect, excepting the face, which is shorter in the cynocephalus than in the pithecos. We have already observed, that the orang-outang, the pithecos, the gibbon, and the magot, are the only animals to which we can apply the generic name of ape, being the only animals which have no tail, and rather choose to walk on two legs than four. The orang-outang, and the gibbon,are very different from the pithecos and the magot. But, as the two latter perfectly resemble each other, except in the length of the muzzle, and size of the canine teeth, they have been often taken for each other. They have always been mentioned by the common name of ape, even in languages which have one name for apes without tails, and another for apes which have tails. They are both called by the name ofaffin German, andapein English; and it is only among the Greeks that we find that each of these animals has a proper name. The word cynocephalus is rather an adjective than a proper substantive, for which reason we have not adopted it.

It appears from the testimonies of the ancients, that the pithecos, or pigmy, was the most gentle and docile of all the ape species that were known to them; and that it was common in Asia, as well as in Lybia, and in the other provinces of Africa, frequented by the Greek and Roman travellers. Therefore I presume that we must refer the following passages of Leo Africanus, and Marmol to the pigmy. They say, that the apes with long tails, which are seen in Mauritania, and are called by the Africansmones, come from the negro country; but that those without tails are found in greatnumbers, and are natives of the mountains of Mauritania, Bugie, and Constantine. “These animals, says Marmol, have feet and hands like a man, and, if I may be allowed the expression, a human face; they have an appearance of much vivacity, and seem very malicious. They live upon corn, herbs, and all sorts of fruits, to obtain which they sally forth in large troops, to plunder the gardens or fields; but before they venture out on these expeditions one of the company ascends an eminence, and surveys the country round. If there be no person near, he makes a signal by a cry, for his companions to proceed, remaining himself, however, at his station: but as soon as he perceives any one coming, he sets up a loud cry, and the whole company scamper off with the utmost precipitation, and jumping from tree to tree, retreat to the mountains. It is a great curiosity to see these animals retreat; for the females carry four or five young ones upon their backs, and with this heavy load, leap with great agility from branch to branch; yet great numbers of them are taken, by different snares, notwithstanding all their cunning. When they are angry, they bite furiously, but by coaxing, they are easily tamed. They do great damage to the gardens and fields, because they pluck, pull down,and tear up, every thing that comes in their way, whether ripe or not, and often destroy more than they can eat or carry away. Those that are tamed, perform things almost incredible, and imitate almost every human action!” Kolbe relates nearly the same facts with respect to the apes of the Cape of Good Hope: but the description and figure he gives of them, plainly prove they are baboons, having a short tail, a long muzzle, sharp nails, &c. they are also much larger and stronger than the apes of Mauritania. We may therefore presume, that Kolbe only copied this passage from Marmol, and applied the natural habitudes of the Mauritania pigmies to the baboons of the Cape of Good Hope.

The pithecos, the magot, and the baboon, were known to the ancients: these animals are found in Asia Minor, Arabia, Upper Egypt and in all the northern parts of Africa. This passage of Marmol may, therefore, be applied to all the three; but it is clear it does not agree with the baboon, for it says these apes have no tails; and what makes me of opinion that it is not a magot, but a pithecos, is, that the former is not easily tamed, that it commonly produces only two young ones, and not four or five, like that of which Marmol speaks;and the latter, being also less, must produce a greater number at a time. Besides the pithecos, or pigmy, is more gentle and docile than the magot, or Barbary ape, which is scarcely ever thoroughly tamed. From these reasons I am convinced, that we must not apply this passage in the above author to the magot, but to the pithecos; and the same remark may be made to a passage of Rubruquis, who, in his discourse of the apes of Cathay, says, “that they nearly resemble the human form in every particular; that their height is not above a foot and a half, and their body covered all over with hair; that they live in holes; that the natives take them, by putting strong and inebriating liquors in the places they inhabit; that a number of them come together to drink liquors, at the same time making a cry which sounds likechinchin, whence they have obtained the appellation ofchinchins; and that having intoxicated themselves they fall asleep, when the hunters easily surprise and carry them away.” These characters agree with the pithecos, and not at all with the Barbary ape. We have seen one of the latter alive, but never heard it pronounce the wordchinchin. Besides it was above a foot and a half in height, and had a less resemblance to the humanform than what this author asserts. We have the same reasons for applying Prosper Alpinus’s figure and description to the pithecos, rather than to the magot. He asserts, that the small ape without a tail, which he saw in Egypt, was sooner and more easily tamed, and more sagacious, lively, and diverting, than those of any other kind. This plainly distinguishes it from the magot, which is a filthy, sullen, vicious, untractable animal, and is never fully tamed, so that the characters given by Prosper Alpinus to his ape without a tail, do not agree in any respect with the Barbary ape, and can belong to no other animal than the pithecos.

Distinctive Characters of this Species.[O]

[O]This ape is about the size of a cat, of an olive brown above, and yellowish beneath.Pennant.

The pithecos, or pigmy, has no tail; his canine teeth are not proportionably larger than those of man; his face is flat, as are likewise his nails, which are rounded at the top like those of the human species; he walks erect, is about a foot and a half high, and of a gentle and tractable disposition. The ancients assert that the female is subject to a periodical emanation, and analogy leaves us no reason to doubt the fact.

THE GIBBON,[P]OR LONG-ARMED APE.

[P]Gibbonis the name by which Mr. Dupleix sent us this animal from the East Indies. I thought at first that this was an Indian word, but in looking over the nomenclature of the monkey tribe, I found in a note of Dalechamp’s upon Pliny, that Strabo has described the cephus by the wordKeipon, from which, probably,Guibon,Gibbon, is derived. The passage of Pliny, with Dalechamp’s note, is as follows: "Pompeii magni, primum ludi ostenderunt ex Ethiopia, quas vocantcephos[Q]quadem pedes posteriores pedibus humanis & cruribus, priores manibus fuere similes; hoc animal postea Roma non vidit."

[Q]Cephos,Strabo, lib.xv. Keiponvocat esseque tradit facie satyro similem. Dal. Plin. Hist. Nat. lib. viii. cap. 19. Nota.Thecebusof the Greeks, thecephosof Pliny, which is pronouncedkebusandkephus,might very possibly take its origin fromkoph,orkophin,which is the name of an ape in the Hebrew and Chaldean.

THE Gibbon (fig. 196.) always keeps itself erect, even when it walks on all four feet, its arms being as long as both its body and legs. We have seen one of these animals alive; it was but young, and not more than three feet high; we may therefore presume, that it had not attained its full size, and that when in a free state, it may grow to four feet. It has no appearance of any tail, and the character which evidently distinguishes it from all other apes, is the extraordinary length of its arms.It had a circle of white hair all round the face, which gave it a very remarkable appearance: its eyes are large but sunk deep in the head; its face is flat nearly resembling that of a man, and of a tawny colour, and its ears, though well proportioned, are naked. This animal, next to the orang-outang and the pithecos, would approach the nearest to the human form, were it not deformed by the excessive length of its arms: for man in a state of nature would have a strange appearance; his hair and beard, if they were neglected, would encircle his visage not unlike that which surrounds the face of the gibbon.

This ape appeared to be of a gentle and tractable disposition; its motions were neither too rash, nor too precipitate. It was fed on bread, fruit, almonds, &c. and calmly received the food that was presented. It was very averse to cold and wet, and did not live long after being brought into a foreign climate. It is a native of the East Indies, and particularly along the coasts of Coromandel, Malacca, and the islands of Molucca.[R]This animal is notto be met with in the less southern provinces, and there is every reason to conclude that the ape found in the kingdom of Ganaura, on the frontiers of China, ought to be referred to the gibbon, although it is called by some travellersfefé. This species varies both in size and colour, for there are two in the royal cabinet, one of which, although adult, is much smaller than the other, and is brown on those parts of the body where the other is black; but as they perfectly resemble each other in every other respect, we have not the least doubt that they both belong to the same species.

[R]P. le Comte says, that he saw at the Molucca islands, a species of ape, walking naturally on his two feet, and using his arms like a man. The face nearly resembled that of a Hottentot, but the body was covered all over with a sort of grey wool. It was exactly like a child, and expressed perfectly its wants and its desires. These apes are of a very mild disposition, and to shew their affection to any person whom they know, they embrace them and kiss them with singular transport. One of them which P. le Comte saw was at least four feet high, and very agile.

Distinctive Characters of this Species.

The gibbon has no tail; there are small callosities on his posteriors; his face is flat, brown, and surrounded with a circle of white hairs; his canine teeth are larger in proportion than those of man; his ears are naked; black, and round; his hair is black, brown, or sometimes grey with age; his arms excessively long; he walks erect, and is about two feet and a half, or three feet high. The female is subject to a periodical emanation.

THE MAGOT, OR BARBARY APE.

THIS animal, of all apes which have no tail, is that which can best bear with the temperature of our climate. We kept one for many years. In the summer it remained in the open air with pleasure; and in the winter might be kept in a room without any fire. It was filthy, and of a sullen disposition: it made use of grimace equally to shew its anger, or express its hunger: its motions were violent, its manners aukward, and its physiognomy more ugly than ridiculous. Whenever offended it grinned and shewed its teeth. It put whatever was given to it into the pouches of the cheeks, and commonly ate every thing that was offered, except raw flesh, cheese, or any thing that had undergone a kind of fermentation. When inclined to sleep it was fond of roosting on a wooden or iron bar. It was always kept chained, for, notwithstanding its long domesticity, it was neither civilized nor attached to its keepers. Apparently it had been badly educated, for I have seen others of the same species who were more sagacious, more obedient, more gay, and so tractable as to be taught to dance, keeping time, and suffer themselves quietly to be clothed.

Engraved for Barr’s Buffon.

FIG. 197.Magot.

FIG. 198.Large Baboon.

This ape (fig. 197.) is two feet and a half, or three feet high, in its erect posture; but the female is not so large as the male. It prefers to walk on all four rather than on two feet. When it sleeps it is almost always sitting; supporting itself on two very prominent callosities on its posteriors; and the anus being placed higher, his body is more inclined when sitting than that of man. It differs from thepithecos; first, in the form of its snout, which is thick and long, like that of a dog; whereas, the pithecos has a flat visage. Secondly, in having long canine teeth. Thirdly, its nails are neither so flat nor so round; and, fourthly, because it is larger, and of a more sullen and untractable disposition.

There are also varieties to be met with in this species. We have seen some of different sizes, with various coloured hair, and more or less bushy. Even the five animals of which Prosper Alpinus has given us the figures and descriptions, under the name ofcynocephali, seem to be all magots, differing only in size,and some other characters too slight to form distinct species. The magot seems to be dispersed over every warm climate in the Old Continent, and is found in Tartary, Arabia, Ethiopia, Malabar, Barbary, Mauritania, and as far as the Cape of Good Hope.

It is, probably, this species of ape which Robert Lade speaks of in the following terms: "We travelled over a large mountain in the neighbourhood of the Cape of Good Hope, where we diverted ourselves with hunting large apes, which are there in great plenty. I am not able to describe the various arts practised by these animals, while we were in pursuit of them; nor their swiftness, nor the impudence with which they returned. Sometimes they suffered us to approach so nigh, that I thought myself certain of securing them, but when I made the attempt, the one I meant to seize would make a sudden leap, spring above ten paces from me, climb up a tree with the greatest agility, and then looking down upon us with perfect indifference, seem to derive pleasure from our astonishment. There were some so exceedingly large, that if our interpreter had not assured us that they were not of a ferocious nature, our number would not have appeared sufficient to have protected us from their attacks.As it would have been useless to kill them, we made no use of our guns; but the captain, taking aim at a very large one, which was seated on a tree, after having tired us with a long pursuit, he had no sooner presented his piece but the animal, probably from the remembrance of the execution of some of his companions by the like manner, was so greatly terrified, that it fell almost motionless at our feet, and we had not the least trouble in securing it; however when it revived we had occasion for all our strength and address to keep it, defending itself by biting those who came near, and we were at last under the necessity of covering its head with our handkerchiefs."

Distinctive Characters of this Species.

The magot has no tail, though he has a small portion of skin, which has some appearance of one. He has pouches on the sides of his jaws, and thick callosities on his posteriors; canine teeth much longer in proportion than those of man; and the bottom part of the face turned up like that of a bull-dog: his visage is hairy or rather covered with a down: he is of a greenish brown on his body, and a pale yellow on the belly: he walks erect on his hind feet, but oftener on all four. He is aboutthree feel and a half high, and there seems to be some of them still larger. The females have a periodical emanation.

THE PAPION[S], OR THE BABOON, PROPERLY SO CALLED.

[S]This word is derived fromPapio, which is the name of this animal in modern Latin, and which has been here adopted to distinguish him from the other baboons.

IN man the physiognomy may deceive, and the figure of the body does not give an idea of the qualities of the mind; but in the brute creation we may always judge of their dispositions by their looks, and form a just conjecture of their internal qualities from their external form. For example, if we compare the ape and baboon we shall at once decide, that they greatly differ in their dispositions, and that the latter are infinitely more fierce, savage, and malicious, than the former. The orang-outang, which resembles man the most of any, approaches also nearest in intelligence, gentleness of manners, and pliancy of disposition. The magot, which is set further from the human figure, and approaches that of the brutes in form of itsface and canine teeth, is wild, impetuous, and disobedient; but the baboon, which only resembles man in the hands, approaches still nearer, and is, in fact, of the savage tribe, having a tail, sharp nails, and a prominent muzzle. The baboon which I saw (fig. 198.) was not so extremely ugly, yet it excited horror. It seemed exceedingly savage and ferocious, continually gnashing its teeth; fretting with rage and furiously restless. It was obliged to be confined in an iron cage, the bars of which it so forcibly moved with its hands, that the spectators were struck with apprehension. It was a squat animal, whose short limbs and compact body indicated vast strength and agility. The long hair with which it was covered seemed to add to its apparent volume; however it is in reality so great, that it could easily overcome more than a single man, unless properly armed.[T]It constantly appeared excited by that passion which renders the mildest animals furious. It was insolently lascivious, and seemed fond of affecting to gratify its strong desires in public. In some measure we may say that Nature seems to have provided himfor this detestable and uncommon kind of impudence; for in all other animals these parts are somewhat covered with a veil; but in the baboon they are naked, and more conspicuous from the other parts of the body being covered with hair; its posteriors are quite naked; its genitals are pendulous, the anus uncovered, and the tail always elevated; and instead of feeling any shame it seemed to make a parade of its nakedness, presenting its posteriors oftener to the spectators than its head, particularly in the presence of women, before whom he displayed a matchless impudence, which could proceed only from the most immoderate desires. The magot, and some others of the ape species, have the same strong inclinations, but as they are less in size, and not so petulant, they are more easily corrected, whereas the baboon is quite incorrigible, and totally untractable.

[T]This probably is of the same species as the animal called tré tré tré tré at Madagascar, which is (says Flaccourt) as large as a calf of two years old; the head is round, with the face of a man; the fore and hind feet like an ape; the hair frizzly, the tail short, the ears like those of man: he resembles thetamachdescribed by Ambroise Paré; it is a solitary animal, the natives dread it very much.

But however violent the desires of these animals may be, they do not breed in temperate climates. The female brings forth usually but one young at a time, which she carries in her arms, and clinging as it were to her breast: she is also subject to periodical emanations. These baboons though mischievious and ferocious, are not carnivorous; they principally feed upon fruits, roots, and corn. They generally assemble together in companies, for the purposeof sallying forth to commit their depredations on the neighbouring vineyards or orchards.

Of these animals Kolbe speaks in the following terms:—"The baboons are extremely fond of grapes, apples, and ripe fruit; they assemble together in great numbers, and proceed on their enterprize with previous deliberation. The dogs who are set to watch do not easily conquer them, unless rendered inactive by excess in eating, as they are extremely agile, and make dexterous use of their teeth and claws. On these occasions a part of them enter the inclosure, while some of the company stand on the wall as centinels; the rest are stationed without, at a small distance from each other, and thus form a line, which extends from the inclosure to their place of rendezvous, which is generally in some craggy mountain. Every thing being thus disposed the plunderers within the orchard begin their operations, and throw the fruit of all sorts to them without as fast as they can gather it; or if the wall or hedge be very high, then to those that sit at the top, who, with great address, toss it to those below; and thus the fruit is pitched from one to another all along the line, till it is safely deposited at their head-quarters. They are so dexterous and quick-sighted that they seldom suffer it to fall; and while the business is goingforward, which they conduct with great expedition, a most profound silence is observed among them. The centinels during the whole time continue upon the watch, and if they perceive any person approaching, they instantly set up a loud cry, and at this signal the whole company retreat with astonishing expedition."

Distinctive Characters of this Species.

The papion, or baboon, has a pouch on each side of his cheeks; he has callosities on his posteriors, which are naked, and of a red colour; his tail is crooked, and about seven or eight inches long. The canine teeth are proportionally much thicker and longer than those of men. His muzzle is very thick and long, his ears naked, his body and limbs strong, thick, and short; his genitals are naked, and of a flesh colour, his hair long, bushy, of a reddish brown,[U]and pretty uniform over the whole body. He walks oftener on four than on two feet. When erect, he is from three to four feet high. There seem to be different sizes of this species; but after the most careful comparison, we could perceive no other differences between them than the size, which does not proceed from their age; for the small baboon seemed to be an adult as well as the large.

[U]The middle of the face and forehead naked, and of a bright vermilion colour, the tip of the nose of the same: the sides of the nose broadly ribbed, and of a fine violet blue; cheeks, throat, and goat-like beard, yellow; hair on the forehead very long, turned back, and black; head, arms, and legs covered with short hair, yellow and black intermixed; the breast with long whitish yellow hairs; the shoulders with long brown hair. This description is from a stuffed specimen in Sir Ashton Lever’s Museum.—Pennant’s Synopsis.

Engraved for Barr’s Buffon.

FIG. 199.Mandrill.

FIG. 200.Ouanderou.

THE MANDRILL.

THIS baboon (fig. 199.) is an ugly disgusting animal; his nose, or rather two nostrils, are flat, from which constantly issues a thick matter, which he takes care at intervals to lick off with his tongue and swallow. His head is large, and muzzle very long. He is of a squat form, and his posteriors are of a blood red, his anus is placed almost as high as his loins, his face is of a bluish colour, and strongly seamed with wrinkles, which still increases his frightful and loathsome appearance. He is larger than the baboon, but more tame and gentle, and seemed to be more tractableand modest, although as disagreeable in every other respect.

This baboon is found on the Gold Coast, and in the other southern provinces of Africa, where the negroes call himboggo, and the Europeansmandrill. This animal is the largest of all the apes or baboons, the orang-outang excepted. Smith relates, that a female mandrill was given him, which was not above six months old, and had then attained the size of an adult baboon; he adds, that these animals walk always erect; that they sigh and cry like the human spcies; that they have a violent passion for women, which they never fail to gratify, if they get them within their reach.

Distinctive Characters of this Species.

The mandrill has pouches on the sides of his cheeks, and callosities on his posteriors. His tail is very short, not exceeding two or three inches; his canine teeth are much thicker and longer than those of man. The muzzle is very thick, long, and surrounded on both sides with deep longitudinal wrinkles. His face is flat, naked, and of a bluish colour. His ears, palms of his hands, and soles of his feet, are also naked. His hair is long, of a reddish brown over the body, and grey uponthe breast and belly. He walks erect on two feet, but sometimes on all four; he is from four feet to four feet and a half high when upright. The females are also subject to the periodical emanations.

THE OUANDEROU, AND THE LOWANDO.

THOUGH these two animals seem to be but one species, we have preserved the two names which they bear in Ceylon, as they at least constitute two distinct breeds. The body of the ouanderou (fig. 200.) is covered with brown and black hairs; he has a large long white head of hair, and a monstrous white beard. The body of the lowando, on the contrary, is covered with whitish hairs, and the hair on his head and beard is black. There is also a third race, or variety, found in the same country, which may, possibly, be the common stock of the other two, because it is of a uniform white colour over the body, head, and beard. These animals are not apes but baboons, of which they have all the characters, as well in shape as in disposition;they are of the same savage nature, and even more ferocious. They have a long muzzle, a short tail, and are nearly of the same size as the baboon, but their hind parts seem to be more feeble. The person to whom this animal (from which our figure was taken) belonged, told us it came from South America, and that it was calledcayouvassou. I immediately recollected that this word is a Brasilian term, which is pronounced sajououassou, and signifiessapajou; consequently, that this name was misapplied, for all sapajous have long tails, whereas the animal we are treating of is a baboon with a very short tail. Besides, there is not a single species of baboon existing in America. Errors, with respect to climate, often happen, especially among those who exhibit wild beasts, who, when they are ignorant of the real name of the animal, and the country it is a native of, seldom fail to apply a fictitious denomination, which, whether true or false, equally answers their purpose.

The ouanderous, when not tamed, are so exceedingly savage and mischievous, that they are obliged to be confined in iron cages, where they are often agitated with great fury. But when taken young they are easily tamed, and even seem to be more susceptible of educationthan any other baboon. The Indians take a pleasure in instructing them, and pretend that the rest of the ape and monkey tribes pay a great deference to these baboons, who are possessed of more gravity and knowledge. In their free state they are extremely wild, and remain constantly in the woods. If we may credit travellers, those which are all white are the strongest and most mischievous. They have a violent passion for women, and are strong enough to ravish them when found alone, and even to that degree that they often kill them.

“The white monkeys, says Forbin, are sometimes as big as the largest bull-dogs, and are more dangerous than the black. They have a strong desire for women, and often, after having greatly injured them, finish their cruelty with strangling. Sometimes they even come to their houses, but the natives of Macacar, who are very jealous of their wives, take care to prevent the entrance of such hideous rivals into their habitations; and the females, not liking either the manners or figure of such gallants, boldly assist their husbands to oblige their ugly suitors to retire, but which they are not able to accomplish before they have damaged or plundered every thing that lies in their way.”

Distinctive Characters of this Species.

The ouanderou has pouches on each side of his cheeks, and callosities upon his posteriors. The tail is seven or eight inches long. The canine teeth are much larger and longer than those of man. The muzzle is long and thick; his head is covered with long hair; and he has a great beard of course hairs. His body is long and slender behind. There are some among of this species which vary in the colour of their hair; some have it black on the body, with a white beard; and others, white on the body with a black beard. They walk more commonly on four than on two feet, and when erect they are about three feet, or three feet and a half high. The females are subject to a periodical emanation.

Engraved for Barr’s Buffon.

FIG. 201.Maimon.

FIG. 202.Macaque.FIG. 203.Aigrette.

THE MAIMON.

THE apes, baboons, and monkeys, form three tribes, with intervals between each, the first of which is filled by the magot, and the second by the maimon: the latter forms the shade between the baboons and monkeys, as the magot does between the apes and baboons. The maimon resembles the baboons by his thick and large muzzle, and by his short and crooked tail; but he differs from them, and approaches nearer the monkeys, by his gentle disposition and smallness of his size. Edwards has given a figure and description of this animal by the denomination of thepig-tailed ape. This particular character is sufficient to distinguish him, for he is the only baboon or monkey that has a naked tail, curled like that of a pig. He is nearly of the same size as the magot, and so strongly resembles the macaque that he might be taken for a variety of that species, if his tail were not entirely different. His face is naked, and of a tawny colour; his eyes are of a chesnut, with black eyebrows. His nose is flat, his lips thin, and furnished with some rough hairs, but too short to form whiskers. His genital parts are concealed within the skin, therefore the maimon, though very spirited and full of fire, has none of that impudent petulance of the baboons. He is gentle, tractable, and even fond. He is found in Sumatra, and probably in some other southern provinces of India; of course it is with difficulty he can endure the cold of our climate.That which we saw at Paris lived but a very short time; and Edwards says, that which he describes lived only one year in London. “The pig-tailed monkey (says that author) was brought to England in 1752. It was extremely spirited and full of action, and was about the size of our common house-cat. It was a male, and lived under my care only one year. While I had mine, a female of the same species, but much larger, was shewn at Bartholomew-fair, London. I brought the two exiles together to compare them, and the moment they came into each other’s presence they testified their mutual satisfaction, and seemed quite transported at the interview.”

Distinctive Characters of this Species.

The maimon has pouches on each side of his cheeks, and callosities on his posteriors: his tail is naked, curled up, and about five or six inches in length. The canine teeth are not longer in proportion than those of men: the muzzle is very large; the orbits of the eyes are very prominent above; the face, ears, hands, and feet, are naked, and of a flesh colour. The hair on the body is of a dark olive, and of a reddish yellow on the belly: he sometimes walks erect, and at others upon all fours.When erect he is about two feet, or two feet and a half high. The female is subject to the periodical emanation.

THE MACAQUE, AND THE EGRET.

OF all the guenons, or monkeys, with long tails, the macaque (fig. 202.) approaches nearest the baboon. Like them his body is short and compact, his head thick, his muzzle broad, his nose flat, his cheeks wrinkled, and he is also larger and taller than most other monkeys. He is so extremely ugly that he might well be looked upon as a smaller kind of baboon, if his tail were not long and tufted; whereas that of the baboon, in general, is extremely short. This species is a native of Congo, and other southern provinces of Africa. It is numerous, and subject to many varieties, with respect to its size, colour, and disposition of the hair. The body of that described by Hasselquist was more than two feet long; and those we have seen were not above one foot and a half. That which we term theEgret, (fig. 203.) because it has on the top its head atuft of hair, seems to be only a variety of the macaque, which it perfectly resembles, excepting in this and some other slight differences in the hair. Both of them are tractable and docile; but, independently of a disagreeable scent which they diffuse around them; they are so dirty, so ugly, and even so hideous when they grimace, that we cannot look on them without horror and disgust. These monkeys go in troops, especially to plunder orchards of the fruit and plants. Bosman relates, that they take a quantity of millet in each hand, the same under their arms, and some in their mouths, which they go off with, leaping on their hind feet; if pursued they first drop that from under their arms, then that from their hands; and this they do that they may use more speed on their four legs, but they always preserve that in their mouths. This traveller adds, that they examine carefully all they pull, and what does not please them they throw away, and tear up others: so that by this nicety they do much greater injuries than by the quantities they consume or take away.

Distinctive Characters of this Species.

The macaque has pouches on each side of his cheeks, and callosities on his posteriors.His tail is nearly as long us all the rest of the body, being about eighteen or twenty inches in length. His head is large, and his muzzle thick; his visage naked, pale, and wrinkled; his ears are covered with hair; his body short and compact; and his legs short and thick. The hair on the upper part of the body is of a greenish ash colour, and on the breast and belly of a yellowish. He has a kind of crest of hair on the top of his head. He walks on four and sometimes on two feet. The length of his body, including the head, is about eighteen or twenty inches. There appears to be varieties in this species, some larger and others smaller.

The egret seems to be only a variety of the macaque. He is about a third smaller in all his dimensions. Instead of a small crest of hair, which is found on the top of the head of the macaque, this animal has it sharp and pointed. The hair on the forehead of this is black, whereas that of the macaque is greenish. The egret also has a longer tail than the macaque, in proportion to the length of its body. The females are subject to the periodical emanation like women.

Engraved for Barr’s Buffon.

FIG. 204.Malbrouck.FIG. 205.Black BandedPatas.

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