THE SIMIA MORMON, OR TUFTED APE. 39 



THE SIMIA MORMON, OR TUFTED APE, 



IN THE COLLECTION OF MR. WOMBWELL. 



Simia, in natural history, includes the whole genus of the class and order of Mammalia Primates, of 

 which the generic character is, that the individuals have four front teeth in each jaw, which are 

 approximate ; the tusks are solitary, longer, and more remote ; the grinders are obtuse. The animals 

 of this genus greatly resemble man in the uvula, eye-lashes, hands, feet, toes, nails, and other parts 

 of the body. They, however, differ widely in the total want of reason, although the line appears, 

 in certain cases, to be drawn so finely between that eminent property of the human race and the 

 instinct of the brute, as to be very often confounded and indistinguishable in its effects. The 

 Apes have, in general, very retentive memories, are full of gesticulation, and excessively rich in 

 imitation ; they macerate their food in the cheeks before they swallow it ; they are filthy, lascivious, 

 and of an unconquerably thievish disposition. Their greatest enemies are the leopards and the 

 serpents ; the latter pursuing them to the summits of trees, and swallowing them entire. 



This race of animals, which are very numerous, are almost confined to the torrid zone. They fill 

 the woods of Africa from Senegal to the Cape, and from thence to Ethiopia ; a single species, 

 however, is found beyond that line in the province of Barbary. They are also found in all parts 

 of India, and its islands, in Cochin-China, in the south of China, and in Japan ; and one kind is 

 met with in Arabia. They swarm in the forests of South America, from the Isthmus of Darien 

 as far south as Paraguay. 



These animals, from the structure of their members, have many actions in common with the 

 human kind. The majority of them are fierce and intractable, and difficult to be tamed ; others, on 

 the contrary, are of a milder nature, and appear to be capable of a positive degree of attachment to 

 those under whose subjection they live. Their general food are fruits, leaves, and insects ; and their 

 voracity often leads them to a wanton destruction of food, from a fear that they should not be able 

 to obtain a sufficiency. The woods are their usual habitation, and their chief residence is in the 

 trees, where they imagine themselves secure from the attacks of their enemies. The Apes may, in 

 some respects, be considered as social animals, as they generally go in large companies ; but it is 

 remarkable that this social disposition appears to decline in proportion as the species exhibit a 

 greater magnitude. Thus, the Ourang-outang is an unsocial, solitary animal, whilst the lesser species 

 seem to delight in social intercourse, although it must be remarked that the different species never 

 mix with each other, but always keep within a certain boundary which they have chosen for their 

 habitation. The activity of the monkey has been long proverbial ; and from the various reports 

 of travellers, who have seen them in their native country, their feats of agility sometimes exceed 

 credibility. The ape is not a carnivorous animal, but so prone to mischief, that it will often rob 

 the nests of birds of the eggs and young ; and it is to be observed, that in those countries where 

 apes most abound, the feathered tribe discover singular sagacity in fixing their nests beyond the 

 reach of their invaders. 



The Mormon, which now forms a part of the extensive collection of Mr. Wombwell, may, in 



11 M 



