54 



THE WANDEROO. 



the lioor ; and in that case, he would inevitably have swallowed every bead that had not been 

 seized and eaten by his companion. 



The floor of the cage was strewed with fragmentary trophies of the powers of these most 

 mischievous creatures. There were scraps of ribbon, evidently torn from feminine wrists ; 

 there were odd fingers and thumbs of gloves, of every material and make ; there were patches 

 of various laces and light textures, which had once formed part of summer dresses ; even to 

 little pieces of slight walking-sticks, which had been seized and broken by the monkey in 

 excusable avenging of insidts offered by their bearers ; — there were representative fragments 

 of man, woman, and child, lying tossed about in admirable confusion. 



I never knew so excellent a show of 

 trophies, excepting in one instance, where 

 several monkeys were confined in the same 

 cage, and even in that case, I fancy that the 

 superiority was simply occasioned by the less 

 frequency with which the cage was swept. It 

 is quite a common sight to see the skeleton 

 of a parasol or two lying helplessly on the 

 floor, or hung derisively from some bar or 

 hook that is out of reach of any hand but 

 that of the monkey. 



Tassels of all kinds fall easy victims to 

 the monkey's quick paw, and, after being 

 well gnawed, are thrown contemptuously on 

 the ground. The hard knob that is usually 

 found in the upper part of a tassel irritates 

 the monkey exceedingly. He thinks that he 

 has found a nut concealed in the silken 

 threads, and expends much time and labor 

 in trying to crack it. The fine fibres of the 

 silk annoy him wonderfully, and the air of 

 angry vexation with which he spits out the 

 obnoxious tlireads is highly amusing. 



The fur of the Pig-tailed Macaque is 

 tolerably uniform in its hue. The color of 

 the greater part of the fur is a light fawn ; 

 a dark brown tint is washed over the top of 

 the head and along the back, spreading 

 partly over the sides, and coloring the upper surface of the tail. The under parts of the 

 body and tail, together with the cheeks, are of a lighter tint. 



The last of the Macaques which we shall notice in this work is the monkey which is well 

 known under the name of Wandekoo, or Ouandeeoo, as it is sometimes written. 



Although the Wanderoo is by our best authorities considered to be a member of the Ma- 

 caques, and is therefore placed among them in this work, some naturalists are more inclined 

 to give it a place at the head of the Baboons, and assert that it forms the link between them 

 and the Macaques. 



To this decision they are led by the general physiognomy of this monkey, and by the fact 

 that the extremity of the tail is furnished with a brush. Still, the muzzle is not of that brutal 

 character which is so repulsively exhibited in the baboons, and the nostrils are situated in 

 their ordinary position, instead of being pierced at the extremity of the muzzle. 



The Indian name of this animal is "Nilbandar," or more properly "Neel-bhunder," the 

 word being a composite one, and signifying a black Bhunder. 



This very singular animal is a native of the East Indies, and is found commonly enough in 

 Ceylon. The heavy mass of hair that surmounts the head and envelops the entire face, gives 

 it a rather dignified aspect, reminding the observer of the huge peruke under whose learned 



WAHDEROO.— Silemts veter. 



