36 VERTEBRATA. MAMMALIA. 



cimens occasionally seen in the woods probably origi- 

 nated the Satyrs of ancient fable. When full grown, 

 they are frightfully .ferocious and brutal. One of 

 the most remarkable of the eight or ten species in- 

 cluded in this genus, is the Mandrill (C. Mormon) ; 

 it is also the largest, attaining the size of man. The 

 enormous protuberance of its cheeks, the great head 

 destitute of a forehead, the prominent brows over- 

 hanging the little sunken eyes, give it an aspect of 

 horrible ferocity. The brilliant colours lavished on 

 it serve only to make its appearance still more re- 

 volting. The callosities are large, and deep scarlet, 

 and the great cheeks are singularly marked with ribs 

 of azure, scarlet, and purple. The general colour 

 is light olive, and it has a yellow beard. Its thick 

 and robust body, its short and muscular limbs, give 

 it a prodigious strength, and render it a most for- 

 midable animal. In confinement it is mischievous, 

 morose, and savage ; and its strong predilection for 

 spirituous liquors is by no means a redeeming trait 

 in its character. " A very fine one, which was some 

 time at Exeter Change, and afterwards at the Surrey 

 Zoological Gardens, drank his pot of porter daily, 

 and evidently enjoyed it; it was a most amusing 

 sight to see him seated in his little arm-chair, with 

 his quart pot beside him, smoking his short pipe 

 with all the gravity of a Dutchman." In a wild 

 state these animals resort to the villages during the 

 absence of the men, plunder the fields and houses 

 of food, and even carry away the negro women. It 



