THE MONKEY KIND. 



409 



The negroes consider these animals as 

 their greatest plague ; and, indeed, they do 

 incredible damage, when they come in com- 

 panies to lay waste a field of Indian corn or 

 rice, or a plantation of sugar-canes. They 

 carry off as much as they are able; and they 

 destroy ten times more than they bear away. 

 Their manner of plundering is pretty much 

 like that of the baboons, already mentioned, 

 in a garden. One of them stands sentinel 

 upon a tree, while the rest are plundering, 

 carefully and cautiously turning on every side, 

 but particularly to that on which there is the 

 greatest danger: in the mean lime, the rest 

 of the spoilers pursue their work with great 

 silence and assiduity ; they are not content- 

 ed with the first blade of corn, or the first 

 cane that they happen to lay their hands on; 

 they first pull up such as appear most alluring 

 to the eye ; they turn it round, examine, com- 

 pare it with others, and, if they find it to their 

 mind, stick it under one of their shoulders. 

 When in this manner they have got their load, 

 they begin to think of retreating : but if it 

 should happen that the owners of the field 

 appear to interrupt their depredations, their 

 faithful sentinel instantly gives notice, by cry- 

 ing out, IIoiip. hoitp, hmip! which the rest per- 

 fectly understand, and all at once throwing 

 down the corn they hold in their left hands, 

 scamper off upon three legs, carrying the re- 

 mainder in the right. If they are still hotly 

 pursued, they then are content to throw down 

 their whole burden, and to take refuge among 

 their woods, on the tops of which they remain 

 in perfect security. , 



Were we to give faith to what some travel- 

 lers assure us, of the government, policies, 

 and subordination of these animals, we might 

 perhaps be taxed with credulity; but we 

 have no reason to doubt that they are under 

 a kind of discipline, which they exercise 

 among each other. They are generally seen 

 to keep together in companies, to march in 

 exact order, and to obey the voice of some 

 particular chieftain, remarkable for his size 

 and gravity. One species of these, which 

 Mr. BuflTon calls the OUARINE, and which are 

 remarkable for the loudness and the distinct- 

 ness of their voice, are still more so for the 

 use to which they convert it. " 1 have fre- 

 quently been a witness," says Margrave, "of 



their assemblies and deliberations. Every 

 day, both morning and evening, the ouarines 

 assemble in the woods to receive instruction?. 

 When all come together, one among the num- 

 ber takes the highest place on a tree, and 

 makes a signal with his hand to the rest to 

 sit round, in order to hearken. As soon as 

 he sees them placed, he begins his discourse, 

 with so loud a voice, and yet in a manner so 

 precipitate, that, to hear him at a distance, 

 one would think the whole company were 

 crying out at the same time: however, du- 

 ring that time, one only is speaking; and all 

 the rest observe the most profound silence. 

 When this has done, he makes a sign with 

 the hand for the rest to reply ; and at that 

 instant they raise their voices together, until 

 by another signal of the hand they are en- 

 joined silence. This they as readily obey ; 

 till, at last, the whple assembly breaks up, 

 after hearing a repetition of the same preach- 

 ment." 



The chief food of the monkey tribe is fruits, 

 the buds of trees, or succulent roots and 

 plants. They all, like man, seem fond of 

 sweets; and particularly the pleasant juice 

 of the palrn-tree and the sugar-cane. With 

 these the fertile regions in which they are 

 bred seldom fail to supply them ; but when 

 it happens that these fail, or that more nou- 

 rishing food becomes more agreeable, they 

 eat insects and worms ; and, sometimes, if 

 near the coasts, descend to the sea-shore, 

 where they eat oysters,,, crabs, and shell-fish. 

 Their manner of managing an oyster is ex- 

 traordinary enough; but it is too well attest- 

 ed to fail of our assent. As the oysters in 

 the tropical climates are generally larger 

 than with us, the monkeys, when they go to 

 the sea-side, pick up a stone, and clap it be- 

 tween the opening shells ; this prevents them 

 from closing; and the monkey then eats the 

 fish at his ease. They often also draw crabs 

 from the water, by putting their tail to the 

 hole where that animal takes refuge, arid the 

 crab fastening upon it. they withdraw it with 

 a jerk, and thus pull their prey upon shore. 

 This habit of laying traps for other animals, 

 makes them very cautious of being entrapped 

 themselves ; and I am assured, by many per- 

 sons of credit, that no snare, how nicely bait- 

 ed soever, will take the monkey of the West 



