THE AMERICAN MONKEYS-HOWLER. 



53 



Where the 



Howler is 



Found. 



The tail of the Howler is very long ; its end is 

 bare on the under side, abundantly supplied with 

 nerves and blood vessels of very strong muscular 

 power, and therefore perfectly adapted to prehen- 

 sile use. 



The Howlers are widely spread over 

 all parts of South America. Thick, 

 damp, virgin forests are their preferred 

 haunts ; they are only found in the prairies where, 

 m close proximity to water, isolated groups of trees 

 have m course of time developed into small woods. 

 They shun dry parts of the country, but do not 

 avoid the cooler regions if food and water are plen- 

 tiful. 



The Aluate or Red Howler {Mycetes seniculus), 



has a fur of auburn color, merging into golden yel- 

 low on the back ; the hair is short and somewhat 



stiff. The average length 



of the male Red Howler 



is about four feet two 



inches, counting the tail 



as from twenty-five to 



thirty inches. The female 



is smaller and darker. 



This family of Monkeys 



is found in nearly all the 



eastern portion of South 



America. 



The Caraya or Black 



Howler {Mycetes niger), 



lias much longer hair, of 



a uniform black color, 



reddish on the sides, and 



the under part of the body 



assuming a yellowish 



tinge, in the female. Its 



extreme length is four 



feet, one-half of which 



belongs to the tail. It 



inhabits Paraguay. 



Travelers' The Howler 



Accounts of Monkey is an 



Howlers, animal that, 



since the earliest histor-, 



ical time, has been par- 

 tially known to travelers, 



and many fictions' have 



been circulated concern- 

 ing its habits and charac- 

 teristics. Some of these 

 are to this day believed 



by the unobserving whites 

 and the Indians resident 

 in the country inhabited 

 by this creature; but we 

 pay no attention to these 

 doubtful stories, and recount only what is proven. 



Schomburgk says : " For some time after my 

 arrival I had, at sunset and sunrise, heard the fear- 

 ful howling of the Monkeys in the neighboring vir- 

 gin forest, but had never succeeded in seeing them 

 on my walks. One morning I set out after breakfast, 

 provided with my gun, and a dismal howl just then 

 resounding made me eager to kill some of these noisy 

 disturbers. I hurried on through thick and thin, 

 and after prolonged efforts succeeded in approaching 

 a whole troop, unperceived. There they were, right 

 before me, in a high tree, and the concert they gave 

 might have led people to believe that all the animals 

 in the forest were engaged in deadly combat. Yet 

 I cannot deny that there was some kind of harmony 



in the uproar, for sometimes the whole troop would 

 pause, and then one of the singers would begin, and 

 the dreadful howling would start afresh. The bony 

 drum on the hyoid bone, which gives their voices 

 such exceeding strength, could be seen moving up 

 and down. For a few moments the sounds would 

 resemble the grunting of a Pig; the next instant 

 they would simulate the roar of the Jaguar rushing 

 upon his prey, and then again came sounds like the 

 deep and terrible snarl of the same animal, when, 

 besieged from all sides, it recognizes its dangerous 

 position. The dismal troop also had its ludicrous 

 features, and the most confirmed misanthrope would 

 have smiled if he had seen the grave and serious 

 faces of the long-bearded vocalists. I had been told 

 that every band had its leader, which differed from 

 all the deep basso voices, not only in his shrill tenor 



CHAMECK SPIDEE MONKEY. Belongs to the large family of Spider or Thumbless Monkeys, corre- 

 sponding to the Colobus of Africa, but the Chameck has the thumb slightly "projecting, consisting of but a 

 single joint, without a nail. It is found in great numbers in Brazil, and is nearly black in color, the face and ears 

 being a deep brown. (Ateles pentadactyl-us.) 



but also because of his slim figure. I can corrobo- 

 rate the first statement, but for a slim, graceful figure 

 I looked in vain. On an adjoining tree I saw two 

 silent Monkeys, which I took to be sentinels ; but 

 they certainly were bad ones, for I stood in the im- 

 mediate neighborhood unobserved." 



This description shows us sufficiently that the 

 Howlers are highly peculiar animals. One can say 

 without exaggeration that their whole life is a chain 

 of peculiarities and richly repays observation ; on 

 the other hand it must be acknowledged that the 

 Indians are pardonable in regarding the Howlers as 

 melancholy and uninteresting, and as deserving of 

 contempt. It is not even difficult to account for the 

 calumnies that have been uttered against them when 



