398 THE POPULAR SCIENCE MONTHLY. 



answers to it the purpose of a band. Wherever the monkey goes or 

 climbs, that member is its support and its aid in climbing. If these 

 apes arc observed climbing, it is hard to tell m hat is tail and what foot ; 

 and they have been very aptly called Bpidcr-apcs, because when they 

 are hanging in the limbs they look like a big spider. They become 

 very tame, but are much less lively and charming than the capuchin 

 apes. They live on plants alone, and eat buds very readily, but never 

 insects. While of the howling apes mostly males are shot, among 

 the quattas the females appear to be more numerous. Their tails be- 

 ing tightly wrapped around the limbs, they do not fall from the trees 

 when shot, but hang to them, sometimes till putrefaction sets in. For 

 this reason the Indians of the interior shoot them with arrows that 

 have been poisoned with the %coura, the effect of which is to relax or 

 paralyze the muscles, and insure a speedy fall of the animal. 



The most docile of all the apes of Guiana, and the one that is 

 most frequently taken to Europe, is the capuchin ape ( Cehus appella). 

 It is called kesi-lcesi in Surinam, macaque in Cayenne, mclcu by the 

 Caribs, and 2>fuiti by the Arowaks. It appears in pairs, or in troops 

 of not more than thirty individuals, among whom are always some 

 old males, with hair standing out from their foreheads, as if the ani- 

 mals had little horns. Their color is a dark olive-brown, a little lighter 

 in the face. Their hands, feet, and hairy, winding tail are nearly 

 black. They are about the size of a cat. They are very shy, and take 

 quickly to flight whenever they perceive anything wrong. They have a 

 peculiar flute-like call and whimper, which the Indians, having learned 

 to imitate very deceptively, make a means of decoying them to be 

 shot. They can often be heard in the woods, beating down nuts or 

 conversing with one another. They live on fruit, birds' eggs, and 

 perhaps young birds, too, but do not eat leaves or insects. If caught 

 young they soon become tame, are very interesting, and attach them- 

 selves to those who treat them well, with a patient affection which 

 they manifest by caresses and tears. They are very fond of tobacco- 

 smoke, and take great delight in rubbing their bodies with " the weed." 

 There are several varieties of the capuchin ape. A light-colored, 

 very docile kind ( Cehus fatuellus) is more abundant in the interior of 

 the country. There are more males than females in this species. 



The Pitheca Sata}2as, a handsome ape, living only in the mount- 

 ainous interior, resembles the former species in figure, but is somewhat 

 smaller, and has a bushy tail which hangs straight down. The Indians 

 call it //iw. It is rare, and I only knew of one specimen that lived for 

 a few years in a tamed condition. Its back is yellowish brown, its 

 face black, and its head, feet, and tail dark brown. It lives in small 

 families of five or six individuals, and is not very active or hard to 

 catch. I had a young female on the Maroni, but it soon died. I also 

 had a male that bad been shot and had recovered, but it never became 

 tame, and died on board the vessel that was taking it to Amsterdam. 



