PREFACE 



' I ^HIS volume is the natural product of many years 

 -*■ devoted by the author to studying the speech and 

 habits of monkeys. That naturally led him up to the study 

 of the great apes. The matter contained in this work is 

 chiefly a record of the tabulated facts gleaned from his 

 special field of research. The aim in view is to convey to 

 the casual reader a more correct idea than now prevails 

 concerning the physical, mental, and social habits of apes 

 and monkeys and to prepare him for a wider appreciation 

 of animals in general. 



The favorable conditions under which the writer has 

 been placed, in the study of these animals in the freedom 

 of their native jungle, have not hitherto been enjoyed by 

 any other student of nature. 



A careful aim to avoid all technical terms and scientific 

 phraseology has been studiously adhered to, and the sub- 

 ject is treated in the simplest style consistent with its dig- 

 nity. Tedious details are relieved by an ample supply of 

 anecdotes taken from the writer's own observations. Most 

 of the acts related are those of his own pets. A few of 



