8 DIVISION I. vei;tei;]!al animals.— class i. mammalia. 



will attempt to do ; and these faculties appear to be capable of a consider- 

 able dcree of cultivation. In India this propensity to copy man is applied 

 by the natives to a practical purpose. Desiring to gather fruits and nuts, 

 they go to the woods where the monkeys dwell, and, after collecting some, 

 which they place in heaps, retire. The monkeys, who, in the trees, have 

 observed tlie operation, immediately descend, and gather large quantities, 

 which they arrange in jiiles exactly as they had seen the Indians do, when 

 the latter return and appropriate the proceeds of the monkeys' labor to their 

 own use. It would apj)ear, too, that sometimes they employ this talent to 

 their own injury. It is related (jf one, that after olfserving attentively tlie 

 manner of firing off a cannon, he seized the linstock and applied it to the 

 toucii-hole, and, at the same time, as if impelled by a desire to learn how 

 the gun could make such a thundering sound, he darted to look into the 

 muzzle just in time to have his head blown off ! Other anecdotes of similar 

 import are recorded, but whether authentic or not we have uo means of 

 determining. 



The geographical distribution of these animals and their j^eculiar habits 

 will be designated in the descriptive part of this work. 



APES. 



We give the name aj:)? to those genera of the quadrumana family which 

 have neither tails nor cheek-pouches, which nearly approach man in size, and 

 present a facial angle varying from sLxty-five to thirty degrees. They are 

 classed under three genera, cliimjxtnzee, ourawj, and gibbon. The pongo, 

 once considered as a distinct genus, has been proved to be an ourang 

 in a state of maturity. 



Apes seem formed to live among the branches of trees, and find their 

 natural home in the depths of extensive forests. They all can walk erect, 

 although not with much case, as the form of the foot is such that the 

 bottom or palm cannot be placed fairly upon the ground ; hence, as they 

 stand upon the outer edges, they require a staff to support them. They 

 live in families, construct a kind of hut, and use sticks as weapons. 



Genus Tkoglodytes — Chimpanzee. This genus is rightly placed first 

 in our systems ; for the Cliimpanzee unquestionably stands nearest to 

 man. It is a native of Africa, has black or brown hair, scanty in front, 

 and is said to sometimes equal man in size and strength. It lives in troops, 

 constructs huts of branches, attacks or repulses its enemies with clubs and 

 stones, and some affirm that it will pursue and capture negro women. In 

 captivity it is docile, easily learns to walk and to feed himself like a man. 

 The facial angle of the adult is about fifty-five degrees. Of a lively and 

 active disposition, it accpiircs easily some simple arts, by which it makes 



