80 



VERTEBRATA. 





THE KATIATJ, OR LONG-NOSED MONKEY. 



Troops, consisting of more than fifty individuals, arc often found together. If a person meets 

 them in the forests, it is prudent to observe them at a distance. They emit loud screams on the 

 approach of man, and by the violent bustle and commotion excited by their movements, branches 

 of decaying trees are not nnfrcquently detached, and precipitated on the spectators. They are 

 often hunted by the natives for the purpose of obtaining their fur. In these pursuits, which are 

 generally ordered and attended by the chiefs, the animals are attacked with cudgels and stones, 

 and cruelly destroyed in great numbers. The skins arc prepared by a simple process which the 

 natives have acquired from the Europeans, and they conduct it at present with great skill. It 

 affords a fur of a jet-black color, covered with long silky hairs, which is usefully employed both 

 by the natives and Europeans in preparing riding equipages and military decorations. The budeng, 

 daring its young state, feeds on tender leaves of plants and trees; and when adult, on wild fruits 

 of every description, which are found in great abundance in the forests which it inhabits. 



The Kahatj, or Proboscis Monkey, S. vasal/*, or S. larvatus, is chiefly distinguished by its 

 enormous nasal organ, which gives it a ludicrous resemblance to a large-nosed old man. This 

 protuberance is of a flabby substance, and is capable of being enormously inflated. The form of 

 the body is stout, the length bi ing about three feet. The general color is reddish-brown, 'lliis 

 species is a native of Borneo, and would seem sometimes to be found in Southern India. As there 

 is no part of the world more rich in animal curiosities than this, so the kab.au among these is one 

 of the most extraordinary. Figure to yourself an old man three feet and a half high, with a bent 

 back, an aspect of decay, and a crabbed look, yet possessing all the petulance and vivacity <>(' 

 youth, and you have the portrait of one of these eccentric creatures. You must add, however, a 

 nose six indies long, and black as a coal, in order to render the image complete. 



Mi'. Adams gives us the following additional sketch, including a portrait of the gentler sex : 

 M When excited and angry, the female of this species resembles some tanned and peevish hag, 

 snarling and shrewish. When walking on all-fours, they often raise themselves upright and look 

 about. When they sleep, they squat on their hams, and bow their heads on the breast. When 

 disturbed, they titter a short, impatient cry, between a sneeze and a scream: when they emit 

 this wheezing, hissing sound, they twist and wrinkle the nose, and open the mouth wide." 



