154 APES, MONKEYS, AND LEMURS 



thus caught readily became tame, and would recognize its master even in the dark 

 by the mere touch of his clothes. When wearied, it uttered a low whistling sound, 

 and when it had occasion to demand any particular object, it groaned. Its anger 

 was expressed in rough tones resembling the syllables ' l hu ! hu!" fear by shrieks, 

 and pleasure by soft chuckles. 



When captured young, the capuchin is always easily tamed, but older animals 

 refuse all food, become mopish, and do not live more than a few weeks. The 

 younger ones soon take to their masters, and exhibit remarkable fidelity. They 

 become, however, more readily attached to colored than to white people ; and they 

 are generally very fond of other animals, so that in Paraguay it is a common 

 custom to bring them up with a young dog, upon which they ride. To some 

 persons they at once conceive a rooted dislike, which cannot be eradicated. Their 

 intelligence is shown by the manner in which they learn to open an egg ; most of 

 the contents being lost at the first trial, but carefully secured at the second attempt. 

 Although they flourish in captivity if well attended to, great care must be taken to 

 protect them from cold and damp. Their average term of life seems to be about 

 fifteen years. 



Like most other monkeys, captive capuchins are the very spirit of mischief, and 

 are also prone to theft, more especially of eatables. When detected in the act of 

 Stealing, they will cry out before being touched ; but if not caught, they pretend 

 perfect innocence, going about as if nothing had happened. When disturbed, 

 small substances are hidden by these creatures in their mouths, and consumed 

 subsequently at leisure. They are extremely covetous, and this covetousness is 

 taken advantage of to capture them. The negroes are in the habit of removing the 

 pulp of a gourd through a small aperture, and then putting sugar inside ; such a 

 prepared gourd is then placed near the haunts of the capuchins, who come down 

 and endeavor to extract the sugar, and during the process they suffer themselves to 

 be caught. 



THE WHITE-FRONTED SAPAJOU (Cebus albifrons) 



The white-fronted sapajou is a common monkey in many parts of South 

 America. It is allied to the last species, but is distinguished by its pale reddish- 

 brown color, which becomes redder on the back and the outer surfaces of the limbs. 

 The most characteristic coloration is, however, the white, which occupies the face, 

 forehead, throat, shoulders, and chest. 



Mr. Bates, who described this species as being of a light brown color, states 

 that it is pretty generally distributed over the forest lands of the level parts of 

 Brazil ; and it was seen by this explorer in large flocks on the banks of the Upper 

 Amazon. The members of such a flock are described as affording a wonderful 

 sight when leaping from tree to tree ; for, according to Mr. Bates, these monkeys 

 (and we may presume their fellows of the same genus) are far-and-away the 

 best performers in this gymnastic exercise. "The troops,"'' observes Mr. Bates, 

 ' ' consist of thirty or more individuals, which travel in single file. When the fore- 

 most of the flock reaches the outermost branch of an unusually tall tree, he springs 



