AMERICAN MONKE ) -.V, 



'55 



Althougli tlit'V fliwrisli in captivity' if well atteiidi'd to, <jroat care must he taken 

 to protect tlu'iii from eolil ami damp. Their averaj;e term of life seems to he ahout 

 tifteen yea is. 



Like most otiu-r iiKnikeys, captive capuchins arc the \ery sjjirit of mischief, 

 aud are also prone to theft, more especially of eatuhles. When detected in tlie act 

 of stealing;, they will cry out hefore heinj,' touched ; hut, if not cauolit, they prett'nd 

 perfect innocence, going ahout as if nothing had happeneil. When disturbed, small 

 substances are hidden by these creatures in their mouths, and consumed subsequently 

 at leisure. They are extremely covetous, and this covetousness is taken advantage 

 of to capture them. The negroes are in the habit of removing the pulp of a gourd 

 through a small aperture, and then putting sugar inside ; such a prepared gourd 

 is then placed near the haunts of the capuchins, who come down and endea\our to 

 extract the sugar, and during the process they suti'er themselves to be caught. 



The White-Fronted S.vp.v.iou (Cchus albifrons). 



The white-fronted sapajou is a common monkey in many parts of South America. 

 It is allied to the last species, but is distinguished by its pale reddish-brown coloui-, 

 which becomes redder on the back and tlie outer sui-faces of the lind)s. The most 

 characteristic coloration is, however, the white which occupies th(( face, I'oi'ehead, 

 throat, shoulders, and chest. 



Mr. Bates, who desci-ilieil this species as Ix'ing of a light lirown colour, states 

 that it is pretty generally ilisti'ibuted over the forest-lands of the level parts of 

 Bi'a/.il ; and it was seen by this explorer in large flocks on the banks of the Upper 

 Amazon. The members of such a tlock art^ d(>scribed as affording a wonderful 

 sight when leaping from tree to tree ; for, according to Mr. Bates, these 

 monkeys (and we may presume their fellows of the same genus) arc far-and-away 

 the best performei-s in this gynniastic exercise. " The troops," observes Mr. Bates, 

 " consist of thirty or more individuals, which travel in single file. When the fore- 

 most of the flock reaches the outermost branch of an uiuisually tall tree, he springs 

 forth into the air without a moment's hesitation, and alights on the dome of 

 j'ielding foliage belonging to the neighbouring tree, maj-bo fifty feet beneath ; all 

 the rest following his example. Thej- grasp, on falling, with hands and tail, right 

 themselves in a moment, and then away they go along branch and bough to the 

 next tree." 



The same traveller, who had one of these monkeys as a pet, states that it 

 kept the house in a perpetual upi'oar, screaming in a piteous manner when alai'med, 

 excited, or hungry. It was alwaj-s making a noise of some kind ; frequently 

 screwing up its mouth and uttering a succession of loud whistling notes, resembling 

 those mentioned by Rengger in his account of the preceding species. Fi-equently 

 this young sapajou, when following its master, would walk upon its hind-legs alone, 

 although it had never been taught to do so. One day, however, in endeavouring 

 to wrest some fruit from an owl-faced night monkey, it attacked the latter so 

 fiercely that it cracked its skull with its teeth, upon which Mr. Bates considered 

 that he had had enough of pet sapajous. 



