32 



THE APES AND MONKEYS. 



they display on their arrival is unparalleled. Rap- 

 idly they go to work, tear off ears of corn or durra, 

 shell them and fill their cheek-pouches to the utmost. 

 Then they begin to be more fastidious in their choice. 

 All the ears and cobs are first carefully smelled, and if 

 they do not come up to their standard, which happens 

 rather often, they are thrown away, and the waste- 

 fulness that is a characteristic of all Monkeys is ex- 

 ercised to the highest degree. It may be estimated 

 that out of ten ears one is eaten. As a rule, they 

 take but a few grains from each ear and throw the 

 remainder away. This is just what excites the wrath 

 of the natives. If they feel themselves secure, the 

 mothers let their children play with each other, with- 

 out relaxing the extreme watchfulness they are ac- 

 customed to bestow upon their pets ; not one thinks 

 of looking out for danger that might befall the 

 whole band, for all place implicit confidence in their 

 leader. From time to time he stops in his meal, 

 stands upright like a man, and surveys the ground. 

 After each of these inspections one hears his as- 

 suring, gurgling sounds, if he has seen nothing that 

 threatens. If he scents danger, he utters an inde- 

 scribable, trembling note of warning. Immediately 

 his subjects rally, each mother snatches up her child, 

 and every one tries to grasp as much as he can in 

 a hurry. I have seen a single Monkey bearing 

 as many as five large ears of corn along, two being 

 held in the right fore-arm and the others in the 

 hands and feet, and the corn touching the ground 

 as the Monkey ran along. If the danger becomes 

 pressing, the load is thrown down with a wry face, 

 though the last ear is kept until the pursuer is very 

 near and they need both hands and feet for climbing. 



Boldness Their way lies to the nearest tree. I 

 of the have seen them climb up an isolated 



Guenons. tree, and then descend from it and pro- 

 ceed on their way upon the ground when I pressed 

 them hard. Once they reach the forest they are 

 secure from all pursuit, for their agility in climbing 

 is nearly as great as that of the Long-armed Apes. 

 There seems to be no obstacle that can stop them ; 

 not even thorns and hedges, nor long distances be- 

 tween trees. They are equal to anything. It is very 

 astonishing, for we do not know of a single ani- 

 mal in our own temperate climate that could do 

 anything approximating the feats which they easily 

 perform. The leader is always in front, making the 

 whole troop slacken or increase speed by his gur- 

 gling sounds. Fleeing Monkeys never show the 

 slightest fear or discomfiture ; and their presence 

 of mind is really remarkable. One might say with- 

 out exaggeration, that if they wish it, danger does 

 not exist for them. Only Man with his long range 

 rifles can overcome them ; escape from beasts of 

 prey is easy, and they know how to defend them- 

 selves from birds of prey. 



Hunting In East Soudan the Guenons are not 

 the hunted, but are caught in traps, consist- 



Guenon. m g f ncts enclosing some dainty Eood, 

 The Monkeys try to take the bait and entangle 

 themselves in the nets, so that they cannot get away. 

 Europeans have no difficult)' in shooting them, as 

 they think of flight only after a number of their 

 troop have been killed. ' They fear Men very little, 

 or not at all. I have often seen them look very 

 coolly at people on foot or on horseback, and at 

 Horses or Camels, while they would utter their cry 

 of danger as soon as a Dog came in sight. 



I experienced what a "great many others do on 

 a Monkey hunt, and became thoroughly disgusted 



with it. I once shot a Guenon that was looking at 

 me ; it fell off the tree and sat on the ground, calmly, 

 almost humanly wiping the blood from its face with 

 one hand, and the impression it made on me was so- 

 painful that I ran towards it and stabbed it twice 

 with my hunting-knife, to relieve it from its suffer- 

 ing. Since then I never have shot another small 

 Monkey, and advise nobody else to do so, unless it 

 be for scientific research. I felt as if I had murdered 

 a human being, and the face of the dying Monkey 

 has haunted me ever since. 



Guenons These Monkeys have little to fear 

 Dread Nothing from beasts of prey. They are 

 but Reptiles. much too quick for them ; only the 

 Leopard can sometimes overtake an incautious 

 young Monkey. As to birds of prey, the Monk- 

 eys ward them off by their united efforts. 



They have a great horror of everything that 

 creeps, and especially of Snakes. I have forgotten 

 to mention that these Monkeys ruthlessly destroy 

 all birds' nests and are passionately fond of eggs 

 and young birds. When they purpose robbing the 

 nest of one of those birds that breed in caverns or 

 hollows, they proceed with the utmost caution, for 

 Snakes are extremely likely to sleep in such a nest. 

 I hn e often seen them carefully investigate a hollow 

 tree, to see if a Snake was, perchance, in hiding there. 

 First, they looked in as far as possible, then they 

 listened, and then hesitatingly put in an arm. A 

 Monkey never yet made a bold plunge in such a 

 case, but he inserts his arm by degrees, all the time 

 watching and listening, and dreading the appearance 

 of a Serpent. 



The time of reproduction seems not to be limited 

 to a particular season witli the Guenons. In every 

 troop one sees infants at the breast, children and 

 half-grown Monkeys no longer in need of maternal 

 supervision. Guenons reproduce well and thrive in 

 zoological gardens | in Europe or America] if they 

 are well taken care of, though they are not as hardy 

 as the Macaques and Baboons. 

 The Guenon During my stay in Africa, which lasted 

 in several years, I always kept a great 



Captiuity. many Monkeys, and among them' sev- 

 eral Guenons ; and I may say that every one of them 

 had an individuality of its own, and was an attract- 

 ive and interesting object for investigation. ( >ne 

 Monkey would be quarrelsome and bite at every 

 provocation ; a second Would be gentle and tame ; 

 a third might be peevish, a fourth always cheerful. 

 One had a quiet and harmless disposition, while 

 another was cunning, scheming and forever plotting 

 some nasty tricks. Hut they all had this in common, 

 th.it they liked to play practical jokes on larger ani- 

 mals, while they protected and eared for little ones. 

 They knew how to make the most of every situa- 

 tion. Daily they gave me proofs of good common 

 sense and of cunning reflection, but also of great 

 good-nature and the tenderest solicitude for weak 

 or helpless animals, and several of them gained 

 my sincere affection. Several groups among the 

 Guenons are very sympathetic. 



The Green One of the best known species, ranging 

 Monkey of from Abyssinia to the sources of the 

 Abyssinia. Nile, is the Green Monkey {Cercopitk* 

 ecus sadaeus), called Abulandj by the Arabs and by 

 others the Beautiful Haired. He is four feet long, 

 the tail being more than half of this length. The 

 hair on the upper part of the body is of .1 gray-green 

 tint ; the arms, legs and tail are gray : the short 

 beard and the under and inner surface of the leirs are 



