OliDKK II. QUADKUJIANA. 



27 



Howling Monkeys. In size flicy ;irc ;il)i)tit C([u:il to the fox. In color they 

 arc brown or blackish ; sonic of tlio fcniulcs arc yellowish white. Tiicy arc 

 frugivorous, and their flesh is said to be palatable. During the day tliey 

 are quiet, but at night they wander in companies, and fill the air with their 

 dismal bowlings. 



The Stcntors, or Howlers, are the Baboons of the New World, and arc 

 the largest of the monkey-like animals of America. The traveller ^^'ater- 

 ton, describing one of the species, — -the Ivcil Ilowler, — says, "Xothing 

 can sound more dreadful than its nocturnal bowlings. While lying in your 

 hammock in those gloomy and inuneasurabh; wilds, you hear him howling 

 at intervals from eleven o'clock at night till daybreak. You wouM su[i- 

 pose that half the wild beasts of the forest were collecting for the work of 

 carnage. Now it is the tremendous roar of the jaguar as he springs on his 

 prey ; now it changes to his terrible deep-toned growlings, as he is pressed 

 on all sides by superior force; and now you hear his last dying niuau be- 

 neath a mortal wound." 



Mijcetes iirsinus. — The Araguato. ]\[cssrs. Humboldt and r>onpbind 

 discovered this species, and it is tluis dcserilicd in the narrati\e of these 

 travellers : — 



"Having landed at Cumana, we saw the first troops of Araguatos in our 

 journey to the mountains of Cocallor and cavern of Guacharo ; and al- 

 though the convent of Carissc is situated at a high elevation, and the degree 

 of cold durinff the niijht considerable, the surroundinij forests abound with 

 Araguatos, whose mournful howling is heard at tlic distance of half a league, 

 especially when the weather is open, or an electric state of the air foretells 

 rain or a storm." 



They feed on fruits as well as tlic leaves of vcgctal)les. Tiie females are 

 often seen carrying the young upon the slionlder, but no difference in the 

 color between the ages or sexes was perceived. Humboldt thought, of all 

 gregarious monkeys none appeared so numerous as this sjiecics, and had 

 no doubt that on a square league alone two thousand might be found. 



Genus Ateles — The Coaita. The animals comprised in this genus arc 

 remarkable for their great sluggishness, slowness of motion, and extreme 

 timidity. 



Several species are found in Brazil and Guiana, the best known of which 

 are the Chamek (^A/elcs si(hpcHfiulaetiihts) , the ]Miriki (^1. ]njpnxan- 

 thu.s), and iSimia paiiiscus (Linn.). Tliey have long and slender limbs, 

 and a sprawling gait, on which account they have been called Spider 

 Monkeys. In color they are generally black; some have a flesh-colored 

 face. In disposition they are mild, trustful, and capable of domestication. 

 Like the Stentors, they have the prehensile part of the tail naked beneath. 



