454 HISTORY OF QUADRUPEDS. 



mild, affectionate, and good-natured; much attach- 

 ed to its, keeper, and obedient to his commands. 

 Its aspect was grave, and its disposition melan- 

 choly. It was young, and only two feet four inches 

 high. Its body was covered with hair of a black 

 colour, which was much thicker and closer on the 

 back than on the fore part of the body; the hands 

 and soles of the feet were naked, and of a dusky 

 colour. 



THE PIGMY APE. 

 (Simia Sylvanus, Linn. Lc Pitheque, Buff.) 



A variety, found in Guinea, Ethiopia, and other 

 parts of Africa, much smaller than the last, being 

 not more than a foot and a half in length. It is 

 very tractable, good-natured, and easily tamed; is 

 supposed to have been the Pithecos of the ancients. 

 It lives in woods, and feeds on fruits and insects. 

 Troops of them assemble together, and defend 

 themselves from the attacks of wild beasts in the 

 desert, by throwing a cloud of sand behind them, 

 which blinds their pursuers, and facilitates their 

 escape. 



