THE CAPUCINS. 79 



turn the cat into a steed for tlic nonce, and, seated upon her back, to 

 perambulate the premises. More unpromising subjects for equestrian 

 exercise have been pressed into the service by the Capucin. Iliimljoldt 

 mentions one ot these creatures wliich was accustomed to catch a pig 

 every morning, and mounting upon its baci<, to retain its seat during the 

 day. Even while the pig was feeding in the savannahs its rider remained 

 firm, and bestrode its victim with as much pertinacity as Sinbad's old 

 man of the sea. 



Their food is chiefly of a vegetable nature, but they are fond of 

 various insects, sometimes rising to higher prey, as was once rather 

 unexpectedly proved. A linnet was placed, by way of experiment, in a 

 cage containing two Capucin monkeys, who pounced upon their winged 

 visitor, caught it, and the stronger of the two devoured it with such 

 avidity that it would not even wait to pluck off the feathers. Eggs are 

 also thoughtto form part of the Capucin's food. 



The Ccbiis apclla. This species is the representative of the Capucin 

 monkey in Guiana. It varies much in color ; the hair over the brow and 

 on each side of the head swells up into a tuft, and on the face is pro- 

 longed to form a beard. It is found in large troops of several hundix-ds ; 

 Schomburgk saw one consisting of four or five hundred members. The 

 Indians shoot them with their blowpipes as articles of food, and keep 

 numbers of tame ones about their biits. 



It is this ape which wc usually see accompanying the barrel-organ 

 of our peripatetic musicians, and wliich climbs up our piazzas and spouts 

 to reach the nursery windows, and collect the children's cents. Its 

 health does not seem to suffer much in captivity, but it is dirty and 

 melancholy and continually pulling frightful faces. 



The species commonly called the Horned Sapajou or MiKO, Ccbus 

 fatiicllus, is found on the East Coast of Brazil, and is remarkable for the 

 peculiar growth of the hair on its head. It attains the size of a large 

 cat, has strong muscular limbs, a round head and face, a tail longer than 

 its body and thickly covered with hair. The cheeks and sides of tlie 

 temples are decked with fine whitish-yellow hair, while the face is sur- 

 rounded with a ring of bright black hair; on the head there grows a thick 

 tuft divided into two bunches. Between the bunches the hair is short 

 and black, on the neck it is l)rown, beneath the chin dark-brown, on the 

 throat, breast, neck, and sides yellowish-brown, on the rest of the body 

 black-brown, almost black. The hairless face has a dirty flesh-colored 



