FAMILY S I M I A I D A. THE MONKEY TRIBE. 



twenty miles from the interior of the country, and was stated to be about 

 twelve months old. The mother was said to have been four and a half 

 feet high, and was shot at the same time the young one was captured. 

 Mr. Broderip says, that when he saw him his " aspect was mild and 

 pensive, like that of a little withered old man ; and his large eyes, hairless 

 and wrinkled visage and man-like ears, surmounted by the black hair of 

 his head, rendered the resemblance very striking, notwithstanding the de- 

 pressed nose and the projecting mouth. When not otherwise occupied, he 

 would sit quietly in the lap of the old woman who tended him, pulling 

 about his toes with his fingers with the same pensive air as a human child 

 exhibits when amusing itself in the same manner." When spoken to, 

 Tommy, as he was called, endeavoured to do the same, gesticulating as he 

 stood nearly erect, protruding his lips, and making a hoarse noise, " hoo, 

 hoo," somewhat like a deaf and dumb person endeavouring to articulate. 

 " The effect of presenting a looking-glass before him when in the midst of 

 his play was very interesting : his attention was instantly and strongly 

 arrested ; from the utmost activity he became immoveably fixed, steadfastly 

 gazing at the mirror with eagerness and something like wonder depicted 

 on his face. He at length looked up at me ; then again gazed at the glass. 

 The tips of my fingers appeared on one side as I held it ; he put his hands 

 and then his lips to them, then looked behind the glass, then gazed again 

 at its surface, touched my hand again, and then applied his lips and teeth 

 to the surface of the glass, looked behind again, and then, returning to 

 gaze, passed his hands behind it, evidently to feel if there was anything 

 substantial there." A large Python, enveloped in a blanket, having been 

 brought in a hamper into the same room, and then uncovered, Tommy 

 cautiously advanced to the basket, peered over its edge, and instantly, with 

 a gesture of horror and aversion, and the cry hoo, hoo, darted away to his 

 keeper for protection, but no inducement could bring him back to the same 

 spot till the Snake had been removed. To a live Tortoise he also showed 

 aversion, but not horror. He took his rest in a sitting posture, leaning 

 forward with folded arms, and sometimes with his face in his hands; 

 sometimes, however, he slept prone, with his legs rather drawn up, and 

 his head resting on his arms. 



Of the Orang (Pithecus) the following are the characteristics : Muzzle 

 large, lengthy, and rather rounded in front; slight supraciliary ridges; 

 forehead receding, sagittal and lambdoidal crests strong ; facial angle 30 3 ; 

 auricles small ; twelve pairs of ribs ; arms reaching nearly to the ankle- 

 joint ; no round ligament in the hip-joint ; feet long and narrow, the foot 

 thumb not reaching the root of the adjoining toe, and often having but a 

 single joint, and that nail-less; cuspid teeth very large, and extending 

 beyond the intervals of the opposite teeth ; intermaxillary anchylosed to 

 the maxillary bones in the second dentition. 



The Eed Orang (Simla Abelii or Pithecus Satyrus) is distinguished in 

 several particulars from the Black Orang. The most important difference, 

 however, is, that in this species the foot thumb, of which the concavity is 

 turned more towards the toes, is shorter, not reaching the head of the 

 metatarsal bone of the next toe, whilst in the Chimpanzee it always reaches 

 to the second phalanx of that toe. The hair of this species is of a reddish- 

 brown colour, thickest upon the back, but thin upon the front of the trunk. 



The Simla Satyrus of Linnams is, according to Mr. Owen, an immature 

 Orang, with the deciduous teeth, and probably the young of this species. 

 They are natives of Sumatra. Plate 1. 



The first scientific description of the Red Orang is that published by 

 Vosmaer in 1778 : in the same year Camper also produced an Essay, 

 entitled Kort Beright wegens de Ontleding van verschiedene Orang- Utangs, 

 in which he details the results of his examination of eight individuals of 

 this species ; and his account of their anatomical structure is as faithful as 

 Tyson's of the Black Oraug. 



In August 1817 was exhibited at Exeter Change a young male of this 

 species, which had been brought from Java by Dr. Clarke Abel (on the 

 return of Lord Amherst's embassy to China), in whose hands he had been 

 placed by Captain Methuen, who had obtained him at Banjarmassing on 

 the south coast of Borneo, to which place he had been brought from the 



highlands of that island by the natives, who considered him rare. He 

 measured from the heel to the crown of the head two feet seven inches. 

 Whilst in Java he lived on fruit, especially mangostans, of which he was 

 exceedingly fond, and drank water; but on the voyage fed indiscrimi- 

 nately on all kinds of meat, especially that which was raw, and was fond 

 of bread, but preferred fruit when he could get it. He preferred coffee and 

 tea, but would readily take wine, and was fond of spirits, as evinced by 

 stealing the captain's brandy bottle ; but at Exeter Change he preferred 

 milk and beer to anything else. Whilst on shipboard he was taught " to 

 eat with a spoon; and might be often seen sitting at the boatswain's 

 cabin-door enjoying his coffee, quite unembarrassed by those who observed 

 him, and with a grotesque and sober air that seemed a burlesque on human 

 nature." He was easily irritated when balked of food offered to him, and 

 showed great address in obtaining it. He neither grimaced nor was prone 

 to mischief as Monkeys generally, but was grave approaching to melancholy, 

 and mild in his disposition. He died on the 1st of April 1819, having 

 been an object of great interest and curiosity to the public, and the first of 

 his species which had been exhibited alive in England. Since that time 

 several have been brought to England. 



The Dusky Orang (Simla Wurmbii) of Wurmb is not recognised as a 

 species distinct from the Red Orang, it having been satisfactorily proved 

 to be an adult animal of the Red species. 



SEMNOPITHECUS the Doucs. This genus of animals was named by 

 Fred. Cuvier from the gravity of its manners. It comes between the 

 Hylobai.es, which it resembles in the length of its limbs, and the Cerco- 

 pitkeci, like which it has a long tail. The form of the skull approximates 

 it to the former genus, as do also the callosities on the rump. But the 

 most striking character of the Semmopitheci is observed in the length of the 

 limbs ; the fore limbs are very slender, but the hinder are longer and stouter, 

 which enable them to make astonishing leaps, and distinguishes them from 

 all the other Monkeys of India. The thumbs are strong, and placed near 

 the fingers, so that the motions of the hand are more perfect ; the nails of 

 all the fingers rounded, but of the thumbs flat. The form of the teeth has 

 been already noticed. The fur is long and silky. They are all natives of 

 India or China : are generally mild and placid whilst young, but as they 

 advance in age become dull and morose. 



The S. Entellus, a species of this genus, is a native of the East Indies, 

 and is called by the natives Houlman. They pay to it religious honours, 

 and it occupies a very prominent station among the Hindu divinities. It 

 makes it appearance in Lower Bengal about the end of the winter ; and 

 Duvaucel states that he had great difficulty in procuring a specimen, as the 

 Bengalese feared to destroy one, from a popular notion that the slayer of 

 a Houlman would die in the course of a year ; and so careful were they of 

 these animals, that during his stay at Chandernagar a guard of Brahmins 

 were constantly employed beating tom-toms to scare away the sacred 

 animals which were tempted to his garden for the sake of the fruit. In 

 the Hindu mythology the Houlman is considered as a hero, alike renowned 

 for his power, courage, and agility : he is said to have brought to Bengal 

 the mango, one of their most highly-prized fruits, which he had stolen from 

 the gardens of a famous giant in Ceylon ; for this robbery he was con- 

 demned to the flames, and in smothering the fire he burnt his hands and 

 face, which have since remained black. 



The characteristics of the species S. Maurus (Plate 1) are briefly 

 these : Length of the head and body, two feet three inches ; tail, two feet 

 four inches ; when standing on all-fours, about twelve or thirteen inches 

 high ; fur long, delicate, soft, and silky. When first born, this species is 

 of a reddish-brown colour, which gradually changes in age ; a greyish 

 tinge first appearing on the forehead, hands, and tip of the tail, thence ex- 

 tends to the neck, shoulders, and sides, gradually become darker till it 

 acquires the black coat of the adult. This species is found both at Sumatra 

 and Java ; in the former island it is called by the natives Lotong, and in 

 the latter Bwteng or Lutung Itam. They are found in the forests living 

 in large troops of more than fifty individuals, feeding on wild fruits of every 

 description, and when approached utter loud screams. They are very 



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