1884.] T. H. Hughes — The Hanuman Monkey. 149 



the fortune of the question that had to be decided appeared to have 

 been intrusted to the representative champions. 



It was some time — at least a quarter of an hour — before actual 

 hostilities took place, when, having got within striking distance, the two 

 monkeys made a rush at their adversary. I saw their arms and teeth 

 going viciously, and then the throat of one of the aggressors was ripped 

 right open and he lay dying. He had done some damage however 

 before going under, having wounded his opponent in the shoulder, and 

 matters then seemed pretty evenly balanced between the remaining 

 strugglers. 



I confess that my sympathies were with the one champion who 

 had gallantly withstood the charge of his enemies ; and I fancy the tide 

 of victory would have been in his favour had the odds against him not 

 been re-inforced by the advance of two females. I felt that the fight 

 was not a fair one, but was deterred from interfering by a wish to see 

 what the end of the affray would be — and the end, so far as the solitary 

 " Hanuman " was concerned, soon came. 



Each female flung herself upon him, and, though he fought his 

 enemies gallantly, one of the females succeeded in seizing him in the 

 most sacred portion of his person, and depriving him of his most 

 essential appendages. This stayed all power of defence, and the poor 

 fellow hurried to the shelter of a tree where leaning against the trunk 

 he moaned occasionally, hung his head, and gave every sign that his 

 course was nearly run. Possibly he would have been killed outright had 

 I not been present, but when I saw him so helpless, I interfered on 

 the chance of being able to save him. He was however hopelessly 

 mutilated, and before the morning he was dead. 



Not one of his own troop came to his aid : I presume they were 

 either awed by the array of numbers on the other side, or they had full 

 confidence in their leader. Had they assisted, they might in the end 

 have been better off, for the result of the defeat of their champion was 

 that the whole of the aggressive troop entered upon a guerilla war- 

 fare, and isolating several of the members of the weaker troop kept 

 them prisoners under surveillance. Whenever the latter tried to break 

 away, their guards stopped them, and then effectually watched them 

 by occupying every piece of vantage-ground. 



One female with a young one was most viciously chased, and when 

 in her efforts to escape her enemies she climbed to one of the highest 

 limbs of a big tree, those in pursuit actually shook the branch on which 

 she was, and jerked her to the ground. The fall was a nasty one, and 

 she was so badly hurt that in the course of the night she went to swell 

 the list of fatally wounded. 



