THE PROGRESS OF SCIENCE 



411 



as I have witnessed with deer, & as is 

 known to be the case with the wary 

 cliamois & with wild ducks. Brehm 

 gives a curious account of the instinct- 

 ive dread of snakes whicli his monkeys 

 exhibited; but their curiosity was so 

 great that they would not desist, in a 

 most human fashion, from occasionally 

 satiating their horror by lifting up the 

 lid of the box, in which the snakes were 

 kept, & peeping at them. I was so 

 much surprised at this account, that 

 I took a w^ell stuffed & coiled up snake 

 into the monkey House at the Zoolog- 

 ical Gardens, & the excitement there 

 caused was one of the most curious 

 spectacles which I ever beheld. Three 

 species of Cercopithecus were most 

 alarmed; they darted about their cages 

 & uttered sharp signal-cries of danger, 

 which were apparently understood by 

 the other monkeys. A few young 

 monkeys and an old Anubis baboon 

 took no notice. I then placed the 

 stuffed snake on the ground in one of 

 the large compartments, & after a time 

 all the monkeys, staring intently, col- 

 lected around it forming a large circle 

 4c presenting a most 



i have witnessed this with deer, and 

 so it is with the wary chamois, and 

 with some kinds of wild-ducks. Brehm 

 gives a curious account of the instinct- 

 ive dread which his monkeys exhibited 

 towards snakes; but their curiosity 

 was so great that they could not desist 

 from occasionally satiating their hor- 

 ror in a most human fashion, by lift- 

 ing up the lid of the box in which the 

 snakes were kept. I was so much 

 surprised at his account, that I took 

 a stuffed and coiled-up snake into the 

 monkey house at the Zoological Gar- 

 dens, and the excitement thus caused 

 was one of the most curious spectacles 

 I ever beheld. Three species of Cer- 

 copithecus were the most alarmed; 

 they dashed about their cages and 

 uttered sharp signal-cries of danger, 

 which were understood by the other 

 monkeys. A few young monkeys and 

 one old Anubis baboon alone took no 

 notice of the snake. I 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. 



