82 CAPUCIN MONKEYS. 



And when the effect of this melancholy and not at all mnsical intermittent bellow is heightened 

 by the silence of night and the darkness that hangs over the midnight hours in the dense 

 forests, it may easily be supposed, that but little sleep would visit the eyes of one who had 

 not served an apprenticeship to the unearthly sounds that fill the night air of these regions. 



In order that an animal of so limited a size shoidd be enabled to produce sounds of such 

 intensity and volume, a peculiar structure of the vocal organs is necessary. 



The instrument by means of which the Howlers make night dismal with their funestral 

 wailings, is found to be the "hyoid bone," a portion of the form which is very slightly devel- 

 oped in man, but very largely in these monkeys. In man, the bone in question gives support 

 to the tongue and is attached to numerous muscles of the neck. In the Howling Monkeys it 

 takes a wider range of duty, and, by a curious modification of structure, forms a bony drum 

 which communicates with the windpipe and gives to the voice that powerfid resonance, which 

 has made the Alouattes famous. 



It is said by those who have been able to watch the habits of these creatures, that the 

 howlings of the Alouattes are but nocturnal serenades addressed by the amorous monkeys to 

 their arboreal lovers. It is proverbial that good taste, both in beauty and art, are dependent 

 entirely upon race and date, and so the deafening yells of a band of howling Araguatos may 

 be as pleasing in the ears of their listening mates as Romeo' s loving words to Juliet in her 

 balcony ; or as, to bring the matter nearer our home and sympathies, the tender plaints of our 

 favorite Tom-cat upon the housetop to his inamorata in the neighboring garden. 



The howling monkeys are said to be less gentle than the spider monkeys, and to partake 

 more of the baboon nature than any of their American brethren. From the fact of their large 

 size, their formation of head and face, together with one or two other peculiarities, some natu- 

 ralists have considered the Alouattes to be the Western representatives of the baboons that 

 inhabit the Eastern continent. 



There is rather an ingenious mode of capturing these monkeys, which is worthy of notice. 



A certain plant, the "Lecythis," produces a kind of nut, which, when emptied of its con- 

 tents, becomes a hollow vessel with a small mouth. Into one of these hollowed nuts a quan- 

 tity of sugar is placed, the nut left in some locality where the monkey is likely to find it, and 

 the monkey-catchers retreat to some spot whence they can watch unseen the effect of their 

 trap. 



So tempting an object cannot lie on the ground for any length of time without being 

 investigated, by the inquisitive monkeys. One of them soon finds out the sweet treasure of 

 the nut, and squeezes his hand through the narrow opening for the purpose of emptying the 

 contents. Grasping a handful of sugar, he tries to pull it out, but cannot do so because the 

 orifice is not large enough to permit the passage of the closed hand with its prize. Certainly, 

 he could extricate his hand by leaving the sugar and drawing out his hand empty, but his 

 acquisitive nature will not suffer him to do so. At this juncture, the ambushed hunters issue 

 forth and give chase to the monkey. At all times, these monkeys are clumsy enough on a 

 level surface, but when encumbered with the heavy burden, which is often as big as the mon- 

 key' s own head, and deprived of one of its hands, it falls an easy victim to the pursuers. 



All these monkeys are eaten by the inhabitants of these lands, being cooked upon an 

 extempore scaffolding of hard wood. Their flesh is very dry indeed, so much so, that a 

 monkey' s arm has been preserved for many years only by being roasted over a fire. 



They are not so playful in their habits as most of the monkey tribe, even when young 

 preserving a solid gravity of demeanor. They are very numerous among the trees of their 

 favorite resorts, as many as forty individuals having been seen upon one tree. 



The Howlers (Mycetes) are represented by several interesting species. The characteristic 

 feature of this group of monkeys is the development of the hyoid bone, which is so enlarged 

 as to form a hollow bony vessel in the throat. By this arrangement of the vocal organs the 

 creature is enabled to produce a hideous howling noise. They are large and heavy creatures, 

 and have a very complete prehensile tail. 



The Capucin Monkeys are active little animals, lively and playful. In habits, all the 

 species seem to be very similar, so that the description of one will serve equally for any other. 



