COAITA.
COAITA.
An old author, Von Sack, in his voyage to Guinea, gives the following account of the manners of this Spider Monkey:—“It is of a very docile disposition, and capable of being quite domesticated. I have seen a pair of them at a gentleman’s house at Paramaribo, which were left quite at liberty. When the female negroes were employed at their needlework, they used to come and sit amongst them and play with pieces of paper, and afterwards go and gambol amongst the trees, but never went over to the neighbouring gardens. They well knew the hour of dinner of their master, when they would come to the gallery, look in at the windows, though without attempting to enter into the room, being aware that this was a liberty which was not allowed them; they therefore patiently waited for their dinner outside.”
The Latin name of this species refers to its having hardly five fingers. It has four and a short stump of a thumb, visible and useless, but consisting of two bones, the usual muscles, and the skincovering. It is larger than the Coaita, and is black, and covered with long hair, but the face is brown. The tail is considerably longer than the body.
CHAMECK.
CHAMECK.
This Spider Monkey is more interesting for its geographical range and favourite localities than for anything else. It lives in Central America, north of Panama, and is common in the neighbourhood of the volcano called Orizaba, in the state of Vera Cruz. It lives in companies in the deep barrancas, up to an elevation of two thousand feet above the sea, and in the State of Oaxaca it roams in the forests up the country to a height of four thousand feet, being the same elevation to which the Tapir often reaches in its roaming. It is a black Ateles, with very long hair, which spreads out in all directions, but there is grey-white on the inside of the limbs, and underneath. It has no thumbs on the hands.
The position which the Ateles take in resting is often very curious. The great Apes of the Old World can lie on their backs like a man, and the Monkeys with callosities sit on them, and, drawing up the knees, let the head fall on to them, or on to the breast, bringing the arms forward when they sleep. But the want of callosities, and of the peculiar flatness of back which characterises the Anthropomorpha, prevents the American Monkeys from adopting either of these positions. Many lie on their sides, and others huddle up in parties, but the Ateles often lie across two or three rope-like horizontal stems, with the face looking downwards, a turn being taken by the tail round the support to insure safety. The length of the back has something to do with this, and of course with their extraordinary agility. The dorsal region of the back-bone, or that which bears ribs, is as long in comparison with the other (neck and loin) regions as in any Monkey; indeed, the maximum of length is attained. There are either thirteen or fourteen back-bone pieces (vertebræ), which have ribs attached to them. The lower vertebræ are four or five in number, and the tail is at its maximum of length in relation to that of the body, its pieces (caudal vertebræ) being very complicated near its root. There, eight pieces (vertebræ) are so like those of the back that they have spines, cross processes, of course without ribs, jointing processes, and a similar nervous canal to those which are higher up in the body. The spinal marrow does not go down it, however. Underneath them are the V-shaped or chevron bones. The end bones are short and thick.
These Monkeys appear to go in small parties, passing through the forests at a rapid pace, feeding on different kinds of berries. The berries which Mr. Bartlett found in their stomachs resembled agooseberry with a large stone inside. Owing to their great length of limb and tail, and to their muscular vigour, these Spider Monkeys travel far and wide. They are found on both sides of the Peruvian Amazon (or Marañon), and on both sides of the Huallaga. They are also common on the Rio Tigri, and range along the lower spurs of the Andes, across Ecuador and Columbia, over the head waters of the Rio Napa, Rio Japura, and Rio Negro, where it was first discovered. They have also been found in Venezuela. Bartlett endeavoured to hunt them on the Rio Tigri, a small tributary that runs into the Amazon about four miles above the town of Nanta, on the north-western shores of the Peruvian Amazon, but was prevented by the fever and ague of the climate, and the fears of the Indians. Going into the mountains up the Marañon River, he heard from the Indians of the presence of a long-armed Ape—called in their language Maciosuppeh—at the distance of three days’ journey. He engaged three Indians, started by way of a forest footpath that had been opened by a Catholic priest, to the town of Moyahamba, as part of his penitence. He writes:—“At the end of three days I reached the highest point of the mountains; here we came across a number of the Monkeys in question—about eight or nine. I shot the male that is now in the British Museum, and my Indians brought down another with a poison-dart. Having obtained two of them I was satisfied that I had found a new species. While, however, I was busily engaged preparing the first specimen, my Indians had quietly placed the other on the fire; and, to my great horror and disgust, they had singed the hair off, and thus spoiled the specimen. Of course I was obliged to keep the peace, for they had not tasted meat for some days, and the Monkey proved a very dainty dish.”
Probably one of the most extraordinary-looking creatures in the world isAteles cucullatus(Gray). This very spidery-looking Monkey has a very curious head of hair, which looks as if it sadly required cutting, for it comes over the forehead, and forms a regular hood, which expands over the eyebrows. Everywhere the fur is long and flaccid, and of a blackish silvery-grey colour. The face is reddish, the cheeks and lower jaw being nearly bare of hair; the skin, however, is of a black shade. The skin around the orbits and upon the nose is bare, and of a brownish flesh-colour. The body is about fourteen inches, and the tail twenty-seven inches in length. The tail is stout near the body, and becomes very slim towards the end, the greater part of it, especially the under surface, being extremely hairy. The length of the hind feet, the long scraggy limbs, the spare, long body, and its great agility, give the Monkey a most extraordinary appearance. Probably it comes from the northern coast of Columbia.
There are many species of Ateles, and they range on the Pacific side of Guatemala, on the west side of the Andes, and in the forests watered by the great rivers.
If attention has been paid to these descriptions of the groups of American Monkeys already dealt with, it will have been evident that they can readily be distinguished one from another. Thus, the Lagothrix has a round head without a beard, a prehensile tail, with the hair off it underneath, not far from the tip, and its thumbs are large; the Spider Monkeys, or Ateles, have small heads, the same kind of tail, and their thumbs are either defective or wanting altogether; and the Mycetes, or Howlers, have high heads and beards, thumbs, the same kind of tail, and the howling apparatus in perfection. Now, the next (and last) genus of prehensile-tailed Monkeys differs from all these in not having the naked spot on the under side of the tail, in having a thicker tail, and a gentle whistling voice. These are the little “masters of the woods,” according to Azara, and should be called “Cai” (the “C” is soft), which has been altered to Sajou by the extraordinary talent which the French have of confounding spelling and sounds in other languages. Buffon divides the Monkeys noticed above into theSapajousand theSagoins, the larger kinds belonging to the first, and those about to be noticed to the last. He modified, he says, the wordsCayonasonandCagoni, theirCbeing pronounced asS.But Azara says that the real words are Caigonazon and Cai, they being pronounced as written, and the first means Great Cai, and the last Cai, or Cay, simply Monkey. Sajous is a derivation from Cagoni, and animals properly included by it constitute the genusCebus, but to add to the confusion, Mr. Wallace calls them “Sapajous.”
BLACK AND VARIEGATED SPIDER MONKEYS.(From theProceedings of the Zoological Society.)
BLACK AND VARIEGATED SPIDER MONKEYS.(From theProceedings of the Zoological Society.)
They are the small, active, red-faced, round-headed, long-tailed American Monkeys, which curl the end of the tail downwards, and yet use it to hold on by. They are smaller and more delicate than those already described; their teeth are smaller, and they have not large canines like the Mycetes. Vrolik, in noticing the gentle expression of their face, says their movements are graceful and gay, and their “manners a mixture of sweetness, cleverness, agility, and lubricity!”
There is abundant proof to be obtained of their agility and intelligence, and, unfortunately for them, their gifts are valuable in the eyes of Monkey-trainers, and many a little pug, dressed up as a Highlander or soldier, who does tricks in the streets for the benefit of his master, once had a gay life of “lubricity” in the virgin forests of the Amazon.
Bates, in his interesting work, “The Naturalist on the Amazon,” refers especially to the following species—
This (according to this author and admirable observer) is the light-brown Caiarára, and it is pretty generally distributed over the forests of the level country. He saw it frequently on the borders of the Upper Amazon, where it was always a treat to watch a flock leaping amongst the trees, for it is the most wonderful performer in this line of the whole tribe. The troops consist of thirty or more individuals, which travel in single file. When the foremost of the flock reaches the outermost branch of an unusually lofty tree, he springs forth into the air without a moment’s hesitation, and alights on the dome of yielding foliage belonging to the neighbouring tree—may be, fifty feet beneath—all the rest following the example. They grasp in falling with hands and tail, right themselves in a moment, and then away they go along branch and bough to the next tree. It owes its native name to the disproportionate size of the head to the body. It is very often kept as a pet in the houses of the natives, and Mr. Bates kept one for a year, and he thus writes about it:—“It accompanied me in my voyages, and became very familiar, coming to me always on wet nights to share my blanket.” It is a most restlesscreature, but is not playful like most of the American Monkeys, the restlessness of its disposition seeming to arise from great nervous irritability and discontent. Its actions are those of a wayward child. It does not seem to be happy even when it has enough of its favourite food—bananas; but will leave its own meal to snatch the morsels out of the hands of its companions. It differs in these morbid traits from its nearest kindred, for another Cebus found in the same parts of the forest—the Prego Monkey—is a much quieter and better-tempered animal. It is full of tricks, but they are generally of a playful character.
HOODED SPIDER MONKEY.
HOODED SPIDER MONKEY.
The Caiarára keeps the house in a perpetual uproar where it is kept. When alarmed or hungry, or excited by envy, it screams piteously, and it is always making some noise or other, often screwing up its mouth, and uttering a succession of loud notes resembling a whistle. Mr. Bates’s little pet used to run after him, supporting himself for some distance on his hind legs, without, however, having been taught to do so. The end of this friendship came at last, and in a tragical manner. “He offended me greatly one day by killing, in one of his jealous fits, another and much choicer pet—the Nocturnal Owl-like Monkey (Nyctipithecus trivirgatus). Some one had given this a fruit which the other coveted, so the two got to quarreling. The Nyctipithecus fought only with its paws, clawing out, and hissing like a Cat. The other soon obtained the mastery, and before I could interfere, finished its rival by cracking its skull with his teeth. I then got rid of him.”
BROWN CAPUCHIN. (From the Zoological Gardens.)
BROWN CAPUCHIN. (From the Zoological Gardens.)
Broderip writes about one as follows:—“Humboldt saw at Maypures one of these Monkeys riding a Pig. He used to bide his time, and every morning caught one, which he compelled to perform the part of the horse. Seated on pig-back did he majestically ride about the whole day, clinging to his bristly steed as firmly as ever the Old Man of the Sea clung to Sindbad, not even giving poor piggy a respite at meal times, but continually bestriding him all the time he was feeding in the savannah that surrounded the Indian huts. A missionary had another of these riders, but the missionary’s Monkey laid a strong hold on a comfortable Cat which had been brought up with him, carried him well, and bore all his tricks with patience and good humour.”
The skull is long, and uniformly round in these animals, and the face is not very prominent. There are two nasal bones, and the inter-maxillary bone is distinct; moreover, the chin is rounded and receding. With all its powers of teasing, fun, and its intelligence, one would anticipate that the brain would be far superior in its form to the Spider and other Monkeys with prehensile tails; and this is the case, for the convolutions on the outside are almost equal in their number and relative size to those of the Monkeys of the Old World.
There are eighteen kinds of these Capuchins, and the attempt has been made to classify them by the direction of the hair of the head and its colour, but in doing this sufficient allowance has not been made for the influence of sex, age, and the bodily vigour, so that great confusion still exists in their classification.
In this species the hairs of the head are brushed back, but it appears that with age some hairs are erected at the sides of the head above the ears into two horns, so as to give it the name of the Horned Monkey.
This is known by the black top to its head, and it is small, and brown in colour elsewhere, the face and throat being greyish-yellow.
Brehm gives the following notes about their habits:—“This Monkey is common from Bahia to Colombia, and it chooses wooded country where there is no underwood. The greater part of its life is spent on trees, and it only leaves them to drink, or to visit a field of maize. In the day he wanders from tree to tree, looking for food; in the night sleeps on the branches of some tree. Generally one sees him in small families of six or ten, of whom the most part are females. It is difficult to observe the animal, because he is so timid and shy. Rengger asserts that he is seldom to be seen. Once he noticed a pleasant whistling noise, and he saw an old male looking timidly around on the highest tree-tops, and then approach. About twelve or thirteen others followed him, of both sexes, and three females carried a little one partly on the back, partly under one arm. Suddenly one of these animals saw an orange-tree with ripe fruit, gave a cry, and sprang up the tree. In a few seconds the whole company were assembled there, and were engaged in picking and eating the ripe fruit. Some began immediately to eat, others sprang, loaded with a couple of fruit, to a neighbouring tree, whose stronger branches provided them with a table. They sat themselves down on a branch, encircled it with their tails, then took an orange between their hind legs, and tried with these to loosen the peel at the top with their fingers. If they did not succeed immediately, they flung the fruit, grumbling and snarling, several times against a tree, by which the rind was broken. Not one tried to peel the orange with their teeth, probably because they were aware of its bitter taste. As soon, however, as a small opening was made, they quickly pulled a piece off, eagerly licked up the juice, not only what was on the fruit, but also what was on their hands and arms, and then ate the pulp. The tree was soon bare, and then the stronger ones tried to rob the weaker, both making the most peculiar grimaces, gnashed with their teeth, tore each other’s hairs, and pulled each other roughly about. Others carefully searched the dead branches, lifted up the dry bark, and ate the insects lying underneath. When they were satisfied, they laid themselves along a branch, in the same manner as the Howlers, to sleep. The young ones, however, began to play, and thereby showed themselves to be very agile. They swung themselves by their tails, or climbed up them as if by a rope. The mothers had great trouble with their young, who wished for the luscious fruit. At first they gently pushed their young aside, but afterwards showed their impatience by grunting; then they seized the disobedient child by the head, and threw it roughly on its back. As soon, however, as they were satisfied, they gently drew the young ones forward, and laid them at their breasts. The mother’s love shows itself by the great care with which every old one handles her young, through laying them on the breast, by watching them, by searching their fur, and by the attacks on others who come near. The motions of the young one were neither light nor graceful, but awkward and ungainly. Another time Rengger came upon a family who were about to make an attack upon a maize-field. They climbed softly down from a tree, looked carefully around, broke two or three heads of fruit off, and returned as quickly as possible to the wood, there to devour their booty. As Rengger showed himself the whole troop fled, with shrill cries, through the tree-tops. Every one, however, took at least a head of fruit away with him. Rengger now shot one of these, and saw a female fall with her young one through the branches. He thought he should be able to catch her soon, but, though dying, she caught herself by her tail, and kept him waiting for quite a quarter of an hour. The young one had not left its mother, but rather clung faster to her, though showing signs of fear. After she was dead, and it was taken away, the little thing called in plaintive tones to its mother, and crept near to her as soon as it was let loose. After some hours, however, the coldness of the body seemed to frighten the young one, and it willingly stayed in its captor’s breast pocket. Our informant says that in the family of the Cai, the number of females exceeds the number of males. In January the female gives birth to a young one, and keeps it at her breast for the first week, but later on carries it on her back. The mother never leaves her young, not even when she is wounded. Rengger, however, observed that a female, whose arm had been broken by a bullet, tore her young onefrom her breast, and set it on a branch; but this most likely was to shield the young one from danger rather than to relieve herself of its weight.
“The young Cai is often caught, and tamed. When older they cannot bear restraint; they become mopish, refuse their food, never grow tame, and die in a few weeks. The young one, on the other hand, soon forgets its freedom, becomes attached to people, and partakes, as do many other Monkeys, of their food and drink. They walk on their hind legs for three or four steps, but they are trained to walk upright by tying the hands behind the back. At first they fall frequently, and must therefore be held by a cord from behind. When sleeping they curl themselves up, and cover the face with the arms and tail. They sleep in the night, and when it is very hot, in the middle of the day. At other times they are in constant motion.
“Among the senses of the animal the sense of feeling is the most acute. It is short-sighted, and cannot see at all by night. It does not hear well, for it can be easily surprised. It holds everything that has smell to its nose, and it is often deluded by the smell into tasting what its taste tells it is not fit to eat. The sense of feeling makes up in some measure for the others. It shows itself chiefly in the front hands, less in the hinder, and not at all in the tail. Through practice and teaching this faculty can be greatly cultivated.
“Rengger’s Cai knew his master in the darkest night, as soon as he had felt his usual clothing. The cry of the Cai changes according to its emotions. One generally hears a whistling sound, which seems to proceed from weariness. If he demands anything he groans; wonder or embarrassment he shows by a half whistling tone; when angry he cries in a deep, rough tone—‘Hu! hu!’ When in fear he shrieks; when pleased he chuckles. By these cries the leader of a troop shares his feelings with the others. These they show also, not only by noises and motions, but also by a kind of laughing and crying. The former is the drawing back of the corners of the mouth; but he utters no sound. When crying his eyes fill with tears, which, however, never flow down his cheeks. The Cai is very sensitive to cold and damp, and must be kept from them if he is wanted to keep well. This is easy, as he gladly rolls himself up in a blanket. They live about fifteen years.
“The intelligence of the Cai is worthy of notice. He learns in the first few days of his captivity to know his master and his keepers, and looks to them for food, warmth, protection, and help; trusts them fully, is pleased when his keeper plays with him, lets himself be teased by him, and after not having seen him for some time shows the greatest pleasure on his reappearance. He also soon forgets his freedom, and becomes almost wholly a domestic animal. An old male which Rengger had got loose once from his cord, and ran away into the wood, but returned again in two or three days, sought out his keeper, and allowed himself to be tied up. Those who are not badly treated show great fidelity, especially to the blacks, whom they like always better than the whites. The Cai is not only fond of men, but also of animals, and it is no uncommon thing in Paraguay to bring him up with a young Dog, who serves as a horse for him.
“The animal is very sensible, and does not give in to the will of man. One can keep him from doing anything, but cannot force him to do it. On the contrary, he tries to make others bend to his will, and also men, sometimes by caresses, sometimes by threats. Weaker animals must follow his will. This does great harm to his learning. He will only learn those things which he can make use of, such as opening boxes, looking through his master’s pockets, &c. As he grows older he gains experience, and knows how to use it. If one gives him an egg for the first time, he breaks it so clumsily that he loses half the contents, but the second time he only breaks the top, and lets no more be lost. He is not often taken in twice by anybody. He soon learns to know the expression of the face, and the tone of the voice.
“The Cai is also very prone to stealing eatables. If caught in the act he cries out with fear before he is touched, but if he is not caught then he pretends to be perfectly innocent, and looks as if nothing had happened. Small articles he hides, when disturbed, in his mouth, and eats them at his leisure. His covetousness is great. What he once gets is not so easily taken away, at the most, by his master, when he likes him very much. His covetousness is made use of to capture him. The niggers clean out a pumpkin through a small hole, and then slip pieces of sugar, &c., inside. They see this, and thrust their arm in, and while so engaged will rather be caught than relinquish their spoil. Besides these qualities, they show curiosity and destructiveness to a great extent.
“They are fond of teasing, and pull the tails of Dogs and Cats, snatch the feathers out of Hens and Ducks, and even tease Horses which are tied up close to them; they also pull their bridles, and are all the more pleased the more worried or frightened the animal becomes.
“Only the Indians make use of the skin, and therefore hunt the Cai down with bow and arrow. The whites prize him most highly in captivity.”
Some of these little Monkeys really appear to reason, and are very clever. Rengger states that when he first gave eggs to his Monkeys they smashed them, and thus lost much of their contents; afterwards they gently hit one end against some hard body, and picked off the bits of shell with their fingers. After cutting themselves only once with a sharp tool they would not touch it again, or would handle it with the greatest care. Lumps of sugar were often given them wrapped up in paper, and Rengger sometimes put a live wasp in the paper, so that in hastily unfolding it they got stung. After this had happened once they always first held the packet to their ears, to detect any movement within.
WEEPER CAPUCHIN, OR CAI.
WEEPER CAPUCHIN, OR CAI.
This breaking of the egg in a proper manner is as interesting as two well-known facts, one of which may be observed by anybody in the habits of American and other Monkeys. Sometimes a little Monkey has a nut given him, and he is not strong enough to crack it. He will look up into your face with a meaning glimmer of his eyes, and hand you the nut again. Crack it for him, and he receives it as a matter of course. Formerly one of the large Monkeys in the Zoological Gardens had weak teeth, and he used to break open the nuts with a stone, and Mr. Darwin was assured by the keepers that this animal, after using the stone, hid it in the straw, and would not let any other Monkey touch it.
Rengger taught one to open palm-nuts by breaking them with a stone, and so satisfied was it with its performance, that it soon began to experiment on other kinds of nuts, and then it began upon boxes. It also crushed off with blows of a stone the soft rind of a fruit that had a disagreeable flavour, in order to get at the luscious food within.
Some interesting observations were male by Rengger in Paraguay on the diseases of these Monkeys in their natural state. One kind of Cebus was found liable to what we call “colds,” or, medically speaking, catarrh. It had all the usual symptoms; was uncomfortable evidently for a while, had a stuffiness in the head, and then its nose ran like that of a child. If the colds occurred over and over again the same result took place as happens in man, for symptoms of consumption came on, and death ensued. Moreover, these same Monkeys suffered from apoplexy, inflammation of the bowels, and even from cataract in the eye. Even the tiny ones suffered like human babies in cutting their second set—or rather in shedding their milk, or first set—of teeth. They became feverish, and often died with the symptoms of fever on them.
The same author saw a Capuchin Monkey taking great and affectionate care of its infant. The flies were teasing it, and the mother drove them away as sedulously as possible. When in its native woods the Cebus Azaræ utters at least six distinct sounds when it is excited, and these seem to produce corresponding feelings in the Monkeys which are listening.
The Capuchins range from Costa Rica to Paraguay.