CLASS I. MAMMALIA: ORDER 2. QUADRUMANA. 83 



lack intelligence, but they are variable, and often petulant. The term Cercopitkecus, meaning 

 Tailed apes, is derived from the ancients, and is supposed to have a certain propriety, as these 

 approach the apes more nearly than any other monkeys in the shortness of the muzzle. 



It is probably to some species of cercopithecus that Ludolf refers in his history of Ethiopia, in 

 the following amusing description : 



" Of apes," he says, " there are infinite flocks up and down in the mountains — a thousand and 

 more together: there they leave no stone unturned. If they meet with one that two or three 

 cannot lift, they call for more aid, and all for the sake of the worms that lye under — a sort of dyct 

 which they relish exceedingly. They are very greedy after emmets. So that having found an 

 emmet-hill, they presently surround it, and laying their fore-paws with the hollow downward 

 upon the ant-heap, as fast as the emmets creep into their treacherous palmes, they lick 'em off 

 with great comfort to their stomachs : and there they will lye till there is not an emmet left. 

 They are also pernicious to fruit and apples, and will destroy whole fields and gardens, unless they 

 be carefully looked after; for they are very cunning, and will never venture in till the return of 

 their spies, which they send always before, who giving information that all things are safe, in they 

 rush with their whole body, and make a quick dispatch. Therefore they go very quiet and silent 

 to their prey ; and if their young ones chance to make a noise, they chastise them with their fists ; 

 but if they find the coast clear, then every one hath a different noise to express his joy. Nor 

 could there be any way to hinder them from further multiplying, but that they fall sometimes 

 into the ruder hands of the wild beasts, which they have no way to avoid but by a timely flight, 

 or by creeping into the clefts of the rocks. If they find no safety in flight, they make a vertue of 

 necessity, stand their ground, and filling their paws full of dust or sand, fling it full in the eyes of 

 their assailant, and then to their heels again." 



The Patas or Red Monkey, C. ruber, is one of the species best known, and is mentioned in the 

 writings of the earliest naturalists. Like the rest of its genus, it has the head rounded, the nose 

 flat, the nostrils opening in grooves ; cheek-pouches outside of the teeth ; naked callosities on the 

 haunches. The body is seventeen inches long ; the upper part of the form of a bright reddish fawn- 

 color. The face is marked by a black band, which appears like eyebrows. It is a native of Senegal. 



This is a very active and lively species, darting about, while in confinement, in a very peculiar 

 manner. It is exceedingly irascible, and is liable to do mischief, if provoked. It inhabits a coun- 

 try where there are detached trees, and in walking from one to the other, though its motions are 

 leaping and inelegant, it progresses with tolerable celerity. 



The Varied Monkey, C. mona, has been celebrated for its beauty. The top of the head is 

 of a greenish yellow, with a tinge of black ; the cheeks are of a bluish purple. The lips and part 

 of the chin are without hair, and flesh-colored. On the sides of the face are large bushy whiskers 

 of a yellowish tinge. The neck, back, and sides are deep chestnut brown ; the lower parts are of 

 a slaty hue. The under surface of the body and the inside of the, limbs are pure white. Alto- 

 gether, this creature is a fop of the first order. It is a native of the Atlas Mountains, in Northern 

 Africa, and hence, from its colder climate, it is more hardy than most other monkeys. 



It is naturally timid in its wild state, rarely approaches inhabited regions, and never enters the 

 plantations. In a time of famine — that is to say, when fruits become scarce in the forests — they 

 descend in troops upon the plains, and there they turn over the stones with the zeal of entomolo- 

 gists to collect the insects found beneath them. L T nlike the naturalists who chase after flies, they 

 do not use a box, with pins, but the two bags provided for them by nature, which are placed by their 

 mouths on each side, under the cheeks. These membraneous pouches are so large in the mona, 

 that it can contain provisions for two days. 



It is docile in its nature, and is capable of considerable education in a domestic state. It is ad- 

 dicted to cunning, and is a most expert pickpocket, when it has had lessons, among mankind. It 

 learns to turn keys and rob drawers of their contents with a slyness and dexterity altogether 

 wonderful. It readily learns to play various tricks, and if conciliated by kindness, shows strong 

 attachment. On account of these various gifts and recommendations, qualified only by the 

 pa-donable fact that it gets cross as it grows old, the mona monkey has been more frequently a 

 favorite than almost any other species. 



