20 QUADRUMANA. 



his neighbor's tail ; the second monkey seizes the tail of a third, and so 

 on till a chain of monkeys from the branch to the ground is formed. 

 This chain is then set swinging by the lowest monkey ; at every oscilla- 

 tion a fresh impulse is given it, and higher and higher does the end 

 monkey swing, till at last he grasps a branch on the opposite bank of the 

 stream. Across this primitive suspension-bridge the young and old 

 members of the band pass ; when all have crossed, the first monkey 

 uncurls his tail, and the chain swings from the last monkey to the land 

 on the other bank. It is a pity that there is no truth in this fable. 



Apes are social animals ; very few are solitary ; they usually gather 

 into bands. Each band has its own home, a spot of greater or less 

 extent, and fixes its home where food is most easily procured. When 

 they have settled on their location, they organize themselves. The 

 strongest, or oldest, or most capable of the males becomes their leader. 

 The dignity is conferred not by the suffrage of the people, but by victory 

 in a series of conflicts with every other male. The strongest arm and 

 the longest teeth decide better than an Electoral Commission. The 

 leader enforces implicit obedience and enjoys great privileges ; he claims 

 and exacts the love of all the female members of his band, and woe to 

 maid or matron who dares to flirt with any young monkey. No chival- 

 rous respect for the fair sex restrains the despot from letting his erring 

 spouse feel the weight of his hand ; the gallant comes off" still worse, for 

 no trifling is permitted in love affairs. The leader is literally the "father 

 of his people." When the band becomes too numerous for its home, 

 some bold youth becomes the leader of a secession, and fights his way, 

 in a new location, to supremacy in power and monopoly in love. Natu- 

 rall}', not a day passes that is not signalized by some conflict for some 

 attractive dame, or by some assertion of his power by the leader. 



The leader discharges his office nobly. Secure in his position, he 

 enjoys the esteem and flattery of his subjects ; the ladies vie with each 

 other in delicate attentions, and in scratching and cleaning his hairy 

 skin, an operation he submits to with the air of a pasha amid the slaves 

 of his harem. 



The sounds of which the ape is capable are well marked and numer- 

 ous. The cry of terror, which is a warning for flight, is peculiarly 

 remarkable. It is difficult to describe or imitate ; it consists of a series 

 of short, abrupt, tremulous tones, and when it is heard, the whole ti'oop 

 takes flight ; the mothers call together their little ones, which cling fast 



