150 APES, MONKEYS, AND LEMURS 



chin doubtless takes its origin from the cowl-like appearance of the hair on the 

 forehead. 



The sapajous are represented by a large number of species, ranging from Central 

 America to the south of Brazil. Our knowledge as to the real number of species is, 

 however, still very incomplete, as there is a great amount of individual and racial 

 variation, and the whole group requires to be carefully revised before anything defi- 

 nite can be said in regard to this point. We shall, therefore, allude only to some of 

 the better-known kinds. 



L,ike most of the South American monkeys, the sapajous go in troops, and in 

 Brazil ascend to the very summits of the lofty forest trees. The late Mr. Bates 

 mentions one which he shot at a height of fully one hundred and fifty feet above 

 the ground. Writing of one of the Chilian species, M. Germain states that " these 

 monkeys usually have a permanent sleeping-place, whence they issue every morning 

 to explore the neighboring trees ; the eggs and young of birds, insects, tender 

 shoots, and, above all, fruits forming their chief food. I have never seen them," 

 continues M. Germain, " on the ground, and I believe they never leave the tree- 

 tops ; while I have observed that they have particular routes in their journeys 

 through the forest. The troops in which they live are not numerous, comprising 

 from eight to a dozen individuals, under the leadership of an old and experienced 

 male. When they arrive at the locality where the fruits of which they are in search 

 are to be found, each endeavors to seize as speedily as possible the best upon which 

 it can lay its hands ; but, both on its arrival and during its return, the band is far 

 from being in disorder. In dangerous places, where a kind of gymnastic perform- 

 ance has to be undertaken, the troop passes in single file, each one not risking the 

 jump till the one in advance has safely passed, and then seizing firmly the same 

 boughs and jumping in just the same manner as the latter. I have sometimes seen 

 them at a height of about one hundred and fifty feet from the ground suspend 

 themselves by the tail from a branch, then balance themselves, with all four limbs 

 stretched out, then, all of a sudden, let themselves go, and falling for a distance of 

 some twenty or thirty feet, seize hold of another bough by the tail. In such falls 

 the outstretched arms seem only ready in case of accident, for there is never any 

 question of maladroitness. " 



Together with the spider-monkeys, the sapajous are the most docile and the 

 most readily taught of all the American monkeys, and since they bear confinement 

 and the European climate well, they are the most common of the monkeys carried 

 about by the peripatetic organ-grinder. 



THE WHITE-CHEEKED SAPAJOU (Cebus lunatus) 



The white-cheeked sapajou, of which a representation is given in the middle 

 upper figure of the illustration on p. 149, is an inhabitant of Brazil. According to 

 Dr. Gray's description, this animal is characterized by the length of the hair on the 

 head, which is directed backwards, while that round the jaw is longer, and curved 

 so as to form a kind of crest on each eyebrow. On the cheeks the hair is short and 

 flattened down. The fur of the body and head is long, soft, and silky, its general 



