26 



THE APES AXD MONKEYS. 



in the greater portion of India. He continues to 

 spread, as he is not only protected and petted, but is 

 also imported into various parts of that country in 

 order to perpetuate his species. His length is from 

 three to four feet, and his tail is as long, or even 

 longer, than this. The fur is cream-colored and the 

 naked parts have a dark violet tint. The face, hands 

 and feet — as much of them as is covered with hair — 

 and a stiff crest of hair over the eyes, are black, 

 while the short beard is creamy. 



The Hoonuman The Hoonuman occupies a very high 

 in Hindoo place among the innumerable deities 

 Mythology. f t h e Hindoos, and has enjoyed this 

 honor since time immemorial. Tradition holds that 

 the giant Rama carried off 

 Sita, the wife of Thri-Rama, 

 and brought her to the 

 Island of Ceylon; but a 

 Monkey rescued 'the lady 

 and brought her back to her 

 husband, and ever since he 

 has been considered a hero. 

 There are a great many 

 stories afloat concerning his 

 remarkable intellect and his 

 swiftness. For one of their 

 most valued fruits, the man- 

 go, the Hindoos are in- 

 debted to him, as he stole 

 it from the giant's garden. 

 For this theft he was con- 

 demned to be burned alive 

 — we are not informed by 

 whom — but he extinguished 

 the fire, badly burning his 

 hands and face, which have 

 ever since been black. 

 These are the reasons as- 

 signed by the Brahmins for 

 adoring him. 



Hoonuman This Monkey 



Protected by has been stud- 

 Natives. , ec j f or a g rea t 

 many years in his native 

 country, and that is the rea- 

 son why we came to make 

 his acquaintance so late. 

 Every person who visited 

 India thought that so com- 

 mon an animal must cer- 

 tainly have been often taken 

 to Europe[or America],and 

 therefore each one neg- 

 lected to stuff him and send 

 him over. Besides, it is 

 dangerous to kill this sacred 

 animal ; for only the Mah- 

 rattas, among Hindoos, hold 

 it in low esteem ; all the 

 other Hindoos caring for and protecting it wherever 

 they can. An European who dares attack a Hoonu- 

 man imperils his life, if he is the only foreigner in a 

 Hindoo crowd, for the Monkey is sacred. A reign- 

 ing family boasts descent from it, and its members 

 style themselves " Tailed Ranas," as they maintain 

 that their ancestor was endowed with this, to us, 

 seemingly unnecessary appendage. 



A High-Priced A Portuguese viceroy of India, Con- 



Monkey's stantino de Braganza, had in his pos- 



Tooth. session a Monkey's tooth, taken in 



war from the treasures of a prince of Ceylon ; and a 



^m 



^f^W^rr^m 



BUDENG OR NEGRO MONKEY. Lives in large troops in 



the forests of Java and is hunted vigorously by the natives for its 

 beautiful, long and silky black fur. which is used by the armies of 

 Europe for decorating purposes. The Budengs build rude nests in 

 the tops of the trees and live upon fruits and buds. The mop of 

 hair surrounding the face gives them a peculiar expression. The 

 care and affection of the mother for her young is shown by the art- 

 ist in the picture. The length of a full-grown Budeng is about five 

 feet, the tail coming in for more than half of the measurements. 

 (Semnopithccus maurus.) 



special embassy of the king of Pegu came to offer 

 him 300,000 cruzados for the valuable jewel. So' 

 high a price was probably never before or since 

 offered for a tooth. The more astonishing is it to 

 know that the Europeans did not accept it. The 

 viceroy held a meeting of his counselors ; the lay- 

 members of the council tried to persuade him to 

 accept so great a sum, but a priest protested against 

 it. He claimed that such a barter would promote 

 heathen superstition, and his opinion prevailed. 

 This might have been of no importance to us, if 

 the tooth had not been destroyed on this occasion 

 and thereby lost a valuable clue to Indian theology 

 and to natural science. This one tooth might have 

 served very well for the 

 classification of the Monkey 

 to which it once belonged. 

 Hindoo Vener- The sacred an- 

 ationforthe imal is held in 

 Hoonuman. as high esteem 

 to-day as in by-gone times. 

 The Hindoos complacently 

 look on when the impudent 

 fellows plunder their gar- 

 dens and rob their homes 

 and regard with disfavor 

 every one who dares to in- 

 sult a Monkey. Tavernier 

 relates how a young Dutch- 

 man, recently arrived from 

 Europe, shot one of these 

 animals from a window; 

 whereupon there was a 

 frightful commotion among 

 the natives, which was with 

 the greatest difficulty 

 allayed. The servants at 

 once handed in their res- 

 ignations, being fully con- 

 vinced that the foreigner 

 would be killed and they 

 probably along with him. 

 Duvaucel also says that in 

 the beginning it was very 

 hard for him to kill one of 

 these Monkeys, as the na- 

 tives always contrived to 

 prevent it. Forbes assures 

 us that in Duboy there are 

 as many Monkeys as there 

 are people. These creat- 

 ures inhabit the top story of 

 the houses and make life a 

 burden to foreigners. When 

 a native has a grudge 

 against his neighbor, he puts 

 some rice or corn on his en- 

 emy's roof, selecting the ap- 

 proach of the rainy season, 

 when it is incumbent on ever)' landlord to repair his 

 housetop. As soon as the Monkeys see the prepared 

 food, they not only eat what is within easy reach, 

 but also tear up the tiles to get at the grains that 

 have fallen into the crevices. As at this time of the 

 year the roofers are in great demand, it is next to 

 impossible to procure one, so the house stands open 

 to the rain and the furniture is spoiled. 



Hospital Not only the well Monkeys but also 



for Sick the sick ones are cared for in that coun- 



Monkeys. try. Tavernier found a hospital for 



Monkevs, Oxen, Cows, etc., in Ahmadabad. All the 



