68 



THE MONKEYS OF THE NEW WORLD. 



garded as exception- 

 ally difficult, and the 

 present of a living 

 specimen, obtained by 

 means of a slightly 

 poisoned arrow blown 

 from the blow-pipe, is 

 considered one of the 

 most valuable that 

 an Indian can make. 

 The fur is reddish - 

 yellow, darker on the 

 under side, the fillet 

 above the eyes bright 

 yellow. These crea- 

 tures are very silent, 

 are said to move about 

 among the branches 

 with great agility, sel- 

 dom leaping, however. 

 When caught young 

 they are easily tamed, 

 and become attached 

 to their owners, but 

 they do not survive 

 long. 



The members of 

 another genus of 

 monkeys living only 

 in moist forests, and 

 soon perishing in drier 

 climates, are pursued 

 by the Indians with 

 the utmost eagerness, 

 partly for the sake of 

 their flesh, partly to 

 be kept as domestic 

 animals. These are 

 the Tee-tees, form- 

 ing the genus Cal- 

 lithrix. The chase is 

 greatly facilitated by 

 the loud voice of the 

 little animals, a voice 

 little inferior to that 

 of the howling mon- 





. * __ 



5 



Fig. 19. The Ouakari (Brachyuriii 



page 67. 



Fig. 20. The Masked Callithrix or Sasiiassu (Callithri: 



keys, and which owes 

 its strength to an en- 

 larged drum -shaped 

 larynx. The fur is long 

 and coarse, the long 

 tail furnished with a 

 uniform covering of 

 hair. In the species 

 represented in fig. 20, 

 the Masked Callithrix, 

 the Sasnassu of the 

 Indians ( Callithrix 

 personata], the body 

 of which is about 16, 

 the tail 20 inches in 

 length, the colouring 

 is somewhat varie- 

 gated. Hands, head, 

 face, and throat are 

 black, the long hair 

 on the back reddish- 

 brown, the tail a rather 

 light gray, especially 

 on the under surface. 

 The male has a white 

 band on the back of 

 the neck. The den- 

 tition of the tee-tees 

 resembles that of the 

 Clawed Monkeys.The 

 canines are small, and 

 the tubercles of the 

 molars are connected 

 by transverse ridges. 

 The movements of 

 these creatures are 

 very lively and ele- 

 gant. Their food con- 

 sists essentially of in- 

 sects and other small 

 animals, which they 

 are very expert in 

 catching while leap- 

 ing. They live only 

 in small troops or 

 families, are always 



