g6 APES AND MONKEYS 



There is, perhaps, no animal more awkward than the 

 chimpanzee, when he attempts to run. He sometimes 

 swings his body with such force between his arms as to lose 

 his balance and fall backward on the ground. Sometimes 

 when he rights himself again, he is half his length back- 

 ward of his starting point. 



The chimpanzee is doubtless a better climber than the 

 gorilla. He finds much of his food in trees ; but he is not, 

 in the proper sense of the term, arboreal. To be arboreal, 

 the animal must be able to sleep in a tree or on a perch. 

 The chimpanzee cannot do so. He sleeps the same as a 

 human being does. He lies down on his back or side, and 

 frequently uses his arms for a pillow. I do not believe it 

 possible for him to sleep on a perch. He may sometimes 

 doze in that way, but the grasp of his foot is only brought 

 into use when he is conscious. I have often known Moses 

 to climb down from the trees and lie upon the ground to 

 take a nap. I never saw him so much as doze in any other 

 position. 



I mar here call attention to one fact concerning the 



J o 



arboreal habit. There appears to be a rule to which this 

 habit conforms. Among apes and monkeys the habit is in 

 keeping with the size of the animal. The largest monkeys 

 are found only among the lowest trees, and the small 

 monkeys among the taller trees. It is a rare thing to see 

 a large monkey in the top of a tall tree. He may venture 

 there for food or to make his escape, but it is not his 

 proper element. The same rule appears to hold good 

 among the apes. The gibbon has the arboreal habit in a 

 more pronounced degree than any other true ape. The 



