THE SAPAJOUS. 77 



he asks for mercy. He is set free, and the most violent ape seems to 

 forget that he has ever been a denizen of the forest." 



The Cebid.e are divided into four sub-families which bear the names 

 of Cebin.1i, Mycetin.e, PnHECiN.ii, and Nyctapithecin.k, and contain 

 ten genera in all. 



The sub-family of Cebin.e contains four genera, the first being the 

 richest in species of all the American monkeys, and ranges from Costa 

 Rica to Paraguay. 



I.— GENUS CEBUS. 



The Sapajous are small, rather slim creatures. They liv'e in bands in 

 the forests of Colombia, Peru, Guiana, Brazil, and Paraguay, usually 

 keeping to the highest branches of the trees. They feed on fruits, insects, 

 worms, molluscs, eggs, and even small birds. Several species of Car- 

 nivora and serpents persecute them incessantly ; the latter more par- 

 ticularly inspire them with terrible fear. 



The Sapajous possess an unequalled amount of agility and petulance, 

 and are capricious to e.xcess. At the same time they are very intelligent, 

 very gentle, and very familiar, and disposed to be affectionate towards 

 those who take an interest in them. Thus it is that they are in demand 

 in all civilized countries ; in the hands of mountebanks and wandering 

 musicians they become objects of amusement to the multitude. They are 

 trained to a great number of tricks, which they execute with great cool- 

 ness and imperturbable gravity. They may be called the Green Mon- 

 keys of the New World. They are sometimes styled the Weeper 

 Monkeys, from the low whining sounds they often utter. Plaintive and 

 mournful as are these cries, they are expressions of satisfaction and good 

 temper. The slightest emotion produces a screaming and screeching 

 painful to listen to. They are also called Musk Apes from a musky odor 

 which some of them exhale. 



It is very difficult to ascertain the number of species in this family. 

 Schomburgk writes: " No genus of apes shows in size, color and growth 

 of hair more differences than these do, and hence a crowd of species is 

 created which are mere varieties arising from a cross between the Capu- 

 cin and the Apella." But the number of observations that have been 

 made of these creatures in captivity lead us to prefer more numerous 

 divisions than the two to which apparently the intrepid traveler would 

 restrict us. We follow Wallace in regarding the genus as divided into 

 eighteen species. 



