THE UKSINE HOWLER. 33 



trained to become not only an amusing companion, but a useful ser- 

 vant. 



The color of this animal varies much, according to the age of the 

 individual. 



When adult, the leading color is of a uniform dull black, devoid of 

 the glossy lustre which throws back the sunbeams from the coaita's 

 furry mantle. On the back, the top of the head, and along the spine, 

 the hair is of a dense, dead black, which seems to have earned for the 

 animal the very inapposite name with which its nomeuclators have 

 thought fit to dedecorate the mild and amiable Marimonda. 



The throat, breast, insids of the limbs, and the under side of the tail 

 are much lighter in tint, while in some individuals a large, bright chest- 

 nut patch covers the latter half of the sides. 



It seems to be of rather a listless character, delighting to bask in the 

 sun's rays, and lying in the strangest attitudes for hours without mov- 

 ing. One of the postures which is most in vogue is achieved by throw- 

 ing the head back with the eyes turned up, and then flinging the arms 

 over the head. 



The animal shown on page 32 is an example of the celebrated 

 group of Howling Monkeys— or Alouattes, as they are termed by 

 some naturalists, whose strange customs have been so often noticed by 

 travellers, and whose reverberating cries rend their ears. Little chance 

 is there that the Howling Monkeys will ever fade from the memory of 

 any one who has once suffered an unwilling martyrdom from their 

 mournful yells. 



Several species of Howling Monkeys are known to science, of which 

 the Araguato, as it is called in its own land, or the Ursine Howler, 

 as it is popularly named in this country, is, perhaps, the commonest 

 and most conspicuous. It is larger than any of the New World mon- 

 keys which have hitherto been noticed, its length being very nearly 

 three feet when it is fully grown, and the tail reaching to even a great- 

 er length. 



The color of the fur is a rich reddish brown, or rather bay, enlivened 

 by a golden lustre when a brighter ray of light than usual plays over 

 its surface. The beard which so thickly decorates the chin, throat, and 

 neck is of a deeper color than the hair of the body. 



Few animals deserve the name which they bear so well as the Howl- 

 ing Monkeys. Their horrid yells are so loud that they can be heard 

 plainly although the animals which produce them are more than a mile 

 distant ; and the sounds that issue from their curiously-formed throats 

 are strangely simulative of the most discordant outcries of various other 

 animals, the jaguar being one of the most favorite subjects for imitation. 

 Throughout the entire night their dismal ululations resound, persecut- 

 ing the ears of the involuntarily wakeful traveller with their oppress- 



