THE ORAN OTAN. 229 



whilst this improper indulgence is superstitiously 

 bestowed upon brutes^ many of the human race, 

 in the same country, languish through want and 

 neglect. 



The amusing tricks that are told of the animals of 

 this genus in a state of captivity, though they show 

 their capacity of being taught, and evince their saga- 

 city, yet they do not inform us of their instincts or 

 natural habits : for them, we must have recourse to 

 the accounts of travellers who have visited the torrid 

 zone, where all the species, except the Barbary ape, 

 are found. 



From the oran otan to the smaller kinds of mon- 

 keys, the varieties are very numerous : their habits, 

 of course, differ according to their species, as it is said 

 that they never mix with each other, but live apart, 

 each kind preserving its own domain. Most of them 

 live in very numerous communities ; but the oran 

 otan is a solitary animal, and prefers the most desert 

 places. Though they are frequently six feet high, 

 they are active, strong, and bold : they live on vege- 

 table food, except, occasionally, they meet with 

 shell-fish on the sea-shore. Notwithstanding their 

 size, they are extremely nimble, and chiefly rest in 

 high trees, where they are secure from the attacks 

 of all rapacious creatures, except their insidious ene- 

 mies the serpents. It is asserted that they construct 



