56 



THE APES AND MONKEYS. 



to balance themselves, increases the ungainliness of 

 their movements. European observers have never 

 seen Spider Monkeys on the ground, and Prince 

 Wied says that when in good health they never 

 come to the ground, except when they cannot get to 

 the water on low branches. They are hunted very 

 much, for the Portuguese utilize their fur and the 

 Indians prefer their meat to that of any other game. 

 These animals are seldom seen in captivity. One 

 cannot help liking them, for they show neither mis- 

 chievousness nor malice, and their anger, though 

 quickly aroused, is soon spent. They are amusing 

 on account of their queer attitudes and contortions. 

 They are very susceptible to kind treatment and 

 acknowledge it by caresses. 



THE CAPUCHINS. 



The Capuchins ( Cebus) differ from the American 

 Monkeys described in the preceding pages in hav- 

 ing a tail which is completely covered with hair, 

 and is not capable of grasping anything, or, strictly 

 speaking, is not prehensile, although it may be curled 

 around a branch. 



While the Monkey tribes we have just considered 

 are rarely met with in the zoological gardens in 

 Europe, a Capuchin is found in nearly every one of 

 them. The arms of these creatures are of moderate 

 size and the hands are always provided with five fin- 

 gers. A more or less developed beard adorns the 

 face and the fur is short and thick. 



Capuchins the The Capuchins are sometimes 

 Liveliest of called the Guenons of America. 

 American Monkeys. They much resemble those merry 

 creatures, though more in their behavior than their 

 physical characteristics. They are real Monkeys, 

 that is, they are lively, docile, mischievous, curious 

 and capricious animals. This is why they are so 

 much more frequently kept as pets, and tamed ones 

 so often taken to Europe. They also bear the 

 name of Weeper Monkeys, and are indebted for it 

 to their gentle, whining voice. Yet this voice is 

 only heard when they are in good humor. The 

 slightest excitement makes them utter abominable 

 shrieks. They live exclusively in trees and are 

 completely at home there. They inhabit all the 

 larger forest regions of the southern portions of 

 South America in rather numerous troops, often 

 mingling with kindred tribes. 



In captivity the Capuchins show all the qualities 

 of the Guenons, besides several peculiar to them- 

 selves only. Notwithstanding their uncleanliness, 

 extraordinary even among Monkeys, they are great 

 favorites with the Indians and are frequently tamed 

 by them. Like the Baboons, they are fond of nar- 

 cotics and spirits. Schomburgk says that when one 

 blows tobacco-smoke into a Capuchin's face, he 

 rapturously closes his eyes and rubs his whole body 

 with satisfaction. Tea, coffee, whisky and other 

 stimulating drinks produce a similar effect on him. 

 The Cai, The best known of all the Capuchins 

 Its Home probably is the Cai or Sai (Cebus 



and Habits, capucitius). Cai, in the language of 

 the natives, means " dweller of the woods." The 

 Cai belongs to the largest kinds of Capuchins and 

 attains a length of twenty inches. In earliest youth 

 he is distinguished by a wrinkled, flesh-colored fore- 

 head, devoid of hair. His coloring is a dark or light 

 brown ; the hairy temples, the whiskers, throat and 

 breast, and the upper limbs are light brown. He is 

 a native of Southern Brazil, and is widely spread 

 from Bahia to Colombia. He prefers forests with- 



out underbrush, and spends the greater part of his 

 life on trees, coming to the ground only to drink or 

 to visit maize-fields. He has no permanent home. 

 In the day-time he roams from tree to tree, at night 

 he sleeps on an embranchment. Usually he is found 

 in families of from five to ten, the females outnum- 

 bering the males. A solitary old male is sometimes 

 met with. It is very difficult to study this animal in 

 its wild state, as it is very shy. Rengger says that 

 he was only able to observe them a few times by 

 chance. Once his attention was aroused by a few 

 agreeable, flute-like sounds. He looked up and saw, 

 approaching him, an old male, followed by twelve or 

 thirteen other Monkeys of both sexes. Three of the 

 females were carrying young ones, either on their 

 backs or under their arms. One of the Monkeys 

 suddenly caught sight of an orange tree, bearing ripe 

 fruit, and quickly uttered a few peculiar sounds. In 

 a few moments the entire troop was gathered around 

 the tree, plucking and eating so rapidly that the tree 

 was soon bare of fruit. Then the stronger Monkeys 

 tried to rob the weaker ones of their share of the 

 booty, vigorously pulling their hair, the assailants 

 making wry faces and showing their teeth in a spite- 

 ful way during the contention. Several of the party 

 busily searched a dead part of the tree, breaking off 

 the bark and eating the insects hidden beneath it. 

 When they had had enough to eat they laid down on 

 a horizontal branch, in the position assumed by the 

 Howlers, as described on a preceding page, and 

 rested. The young ones played around, and showed 

 themselves quite agile. They swung back and forth 

 by their tails and climbed up on them as on ropes. 



The young Cai is often caught and tamed. When 

 older it cannot get used to captivity, but becomes 

 mopish, refuses food, and usually dies in a few weeks. 

 On the other hand, while quite young it will soon 

 forget its freedom, become attached to people, and 

 like many other Monkeys will partake of their food 

 and drink. Of the senses of this animal, that of 

 feeling is most acute ; the others are dull. It is 

 shortsighted and cannot see at all by night. It does 

 not hear well, and for this reason can be easily sur- 

 prised. The sense of smell is still more defective, 

 and often deludes it into attempting to eat what 

 its taste tells it is not fit for food. 



Expressive The cry of the Cai changes according 



Cries of the to its emotions. Most frequently it ut- 

 Ca/ - ters a flute-like sound, which seems to 

 denote weariness. If it desires anything it groans ; 

 wonder and embarrassment are expressed by a half- 

 whistling note ; when angry it cries in a deep, rough 

 voice: " hee ! hee!" When in fear or in pain it 

 shrieks ; when pleased it giggles. 



It not infrequently happens that Capuchins give 

 birth to young ones in captivity, and then their care 

 of them seems still more tender than when in the 

 wild state. The mother plays with her child all day, 

 allows nobody to touch it, shows it only to people 

 of whom she is fond, and courageously defends it; 

 from everybody else. 



The Cai is very sensitive to cold and damp and 

 will never go into the water of its own accord. In 

 captivity it is subject to many diseases, especially 

 colds in the head and coughs, and it often suffers 

 from consumption. According to Rengger, it attains 

 the age of about fifteen years in the wild state. 



The Cai The intelligence of the Cai is worthy of 



easily notice. From the very first few days 



Domesticated. { jt s captivity it learns to know its 



master and keeper, looks to him for food, warmth, 



