304 Life and Immortality. 



birds, which it devours with avidity, not even waiting to pluck 

 off the feathers. Eggs are also thought to form a no incon- 

 siderable part of this Capuchin's diet. 



Some few years ago, Prof. Cope had in his possession a 

 tame Sai, which was kept in a cage, or, rather, was supposed 

 to be kept in it, for the animal had a strong aversion to con- 

 finement, and was sure to break loose therefrom sooner or 

 later. When in "durance vile, and wishing to break prison, 

 he always directed his attention to the hinges, and no matter 

 how firmly they were fixed, he was sure before long to ex- 

 tract the staples, pull out the nails, and so open the door at 

 the hinges, and not at the latch. 



Finding that the cage could not hold him, his master had 

 him confined by a strap fastened around the waist, after the 

 fashion of monkeys. The strap, however, proved to be of no 

 more use than the cage, for the crafty animal soon contrived 

 to open it, and this he did by ingeniously picking out the 

 threads by which the strap was sewn to the buckle, and so 

 rendering the fastenings useless. 



Again he was confined to the cage and carefully watched. 

 Having rid himself of the strap, he began to consider how he 

 might apply it to some useful purpose. So, having perceived 

 that some food had fallen beyond his reach, he took one 

 end of the strap in his paw, flung the other over the morsel 

 of food, and so drew it toward him. In this feat he displayed 

 great accuracy of aim, seldom missing the object which he de- 

 sired. Once or twice, when he had to make a longer throw 

 than usual, he loosened his hold of the strap. The first time 

 that this happened, some one handed him the poker. He 

 took it, drew the strap toward him, and resumed its use as 

 before. 



No intelligent person can deny that these acts were 

 prompted by reason. So far from even being aided by 

 instinct, the animal was certainly acting in direct opposition 

 to it. The instinct of an animal when confined or tethered 

 in any way is to break loose by main strength, and the 



