1 52 THE MONKEY FAMILY. 



quite sufficient to prevent a collision. Wherefore, we may safely 

 infer, that as there is no object to cause a misunderstanding between 

 the orang-outang and the elephant, these two peaceful inhabitants of 

 the torrid zone will never meet in hostile fury. 



Again, as he mentions the " place of their residence," I would 

 ask, who has ever seen it ? Pray, on what part of terra fir ma have 

 apes been known to locate themselves permanently, or even for the 

 lapse of a few days ? The badger has his secret cave, warm and 

 comfortable ; the fox his earth, whither to retire in case of need ; 

 not so the monkey, as I '11 show hereafter. Of all known quadrupeds, 

 monkeys are the least inclined to settle. In fact, they may be said 

 to be eternally on the move ; disporting up and down the trees, or 

 roving on in quest of food ; and when that becomes deficient, 

 deviating in all directions for a fresh supply. Let a man come up 

 with a troop of monkeys in the trees above him, as I myself have 

 often done, and I will give my ears if he find them in the same 

 locality on the following day. They would have no attraction to 

 those trees, saving the hope of nutriment, which would not last them 

 long. Had these errant animals, nests, or recesses in the trees, 

 wherein to rear their young, certainly, in this case, we should see 

 them skulking near " their place of residence." But no such thing. 

 I could never find a young monkey left to itself; neither could I 

 learn from the Indians, that they themselves had ever seen one, 

 except in company with the rest. When stationary, or when in 

 motion, the baby monkey adheres closely to the mother's body : so 

 closely, that it requires a keen and an accustomed eye to distinguish 

 it. The mothers may be aptly styled a kind of moving cradle their 

 fur or coat of hair, serving as blankets for the little ones in earliest 

 infancy. If you are in want of a tender monkey, a month old or so, 

 to boil for broth, or to educate as a pet, your only chance of success 

 is to shoot the poor mother, but not with a fowling-piece. Nine 

 times out of ten, the wounded mother would stay in the clefts of the 

 trees, where she would ultimately perish with her progeny. An 

 arrow, poisoned with wourali, is your surest weapon. Take a good 

 aim, and in a few minutes the monkey will be lying dead at your 

 feet. The wourali poison totally destroys all tension in the muscles. 

 Now, a gunshot wound, even although it be mortal, has not such an 



