THE ARAGUATO, OR URSINE HOWLER. 9 r 



howlings of the Alouattes are but nocturnal serenades addressed by the amorous monkeys 

 to their arboreal lovers. It is proverbial that good taste, both in beauty and art, are 

 dependent entirely upon race and date, and so the deafening yells of a band of howl- 

 ing Araguatos may be as pleasing in the ears of their listening mates as Romeo's loving 

 words to Juliet in her balcony ; or as, to bring the matter nearer our home and sym- 

 pathies, the tender plaints of our favorite Tom-cat upon the housetop to his inamo- 

 rata in the neighboring garden. 



The howling monkeys are said to be less gentle than the spider monkeys, and lo 

 partake more of the baboon nature than any of their American brethren. From the fact 

 of their large size, their formation of head and face, together with one or two other 

 peculiarities, some naturalists have considered the Alouattes to be the Western repre- 

 sentatives of the baboons that inhabit the Eastern continent. 



There is rather an ingenious mode of capturing those monkeys, which is worthy r-c 

 notice. 



ARAGUATO, OR URSINE HOWLER. Mycetes ursiaus. 



A certain plant, the " Lecythis," produces a kind of nut, which, when emptied of 

 its contents, becomes a hollow vessel with a small mouth. Into one of these hollowed 

 nuts a quantity of sugar is placed, the nut left in some locality where the monkey is 

 likely to find it, and the monkey-catchers retreat to some spot whence they can watch 

 unseen the effect of their trap. 



So tempting an object cannot lie on the ground for any length of time without being 

 investigate^ by the inquisitive monkeys. One of them soon finds out the sweet treas- 

 ure of the nut, and squeezes his hand through the narrow opening for the purpose of 

 emptying the contents. Grasping a handful of sugar, he tries' to pull it out but can- 

 not do so because the orifice is not large enough to permit the passage of the closed 

 hand with its prize. Certainly he could extricate his hand by leaving the sugar and 

 drawing out his hand empty, but his acquisitive nature will not suffer him to do so. 

 At this juncture, the ambushed hunters issue forth and give chase to the monkey. At 

 all times, these monkeys are clumsy enough on a level surface, but when encumbered 

 with the heavy burden which is often as big as the monkey's own head, and deprived 

 of one of its hands, it falls an easy victim to the pursuers. 



