THE RHESUS MONKEY. 



{Macacus rhesus.) 



It was in Simla that we first encoun- 

 tered the Rhesus Monkey. We had gone 

 up to Simla to escape the intense heat of 

 Bombay, and, refreshed by the cool air of 

 the "hill country," we were soon ready 

 to make the expedition to the hill called 

 Jako. This hill is indeed the hill of the 

 monkeys. It is eight or nine thousand 

 feet above the level of the sea, and here 

 lives a fakir, who feeds the monkeys as 

 they troop down the mountainside at his 

 call. 



Undoubtedly there is no more mis- 

 chievous monkey than the Rhesus, but, 

 after all, he is not altogether to blame, 

 for the blame may belong to the Hindoos. 

 Some tell us that the Rhesus Monkey is 

 sacred ; others think not. But, however 

 that mav be, it is a fact that the Hindoos 

 protect the monkeys in every possible 

 way, willingly sharing their food with 

 the bands which are found almost every- 

 where, and permitting no one to kill 

 them. 



This fosters every mischievous trait in 

 these monkeys, and thev fear nothino- 

 from man. They will devastate every 

 plantation and garden near them. They 

 belong to that genus of the ape family 

 called Macaque, and as this variety, with 

 their near relations, the other macaques, 

 are found all over Southeastern Asia, be- 

 sides one branch in Western Africa, one 

 can readily see that their mischievousness 

 becomes a serious drawback. 



The natives of Baka are said to leave 

 one-tenth of their harvests in heaps for 

 the monkeys, which come down in great 

 numbers and carry away all that is left 

 for them. And this they can readily do 

 on account of their well-developed cheek 

 pouches. These pockets in the cheeks 

 are assuredly most convenient, but are 

 never found on American monkeys. The 

 Old World monkevs are the narrow- 

 nosed variety, while the American mon- 

 keys have the broad nose bone. 



Our Rhesus Monkeys had, of course. 



the narrow nose bone. They averaged 

 about twenty inches long, and the tail 

 was half as long. Like all the macaque 

 monkeys, they were of sturdy build, with 

 legs of moderate length. In color the fur 

 ft as grayish or greenish on the upper 

 part, yellowish over the hips and white 

 below. The tail was greenish above and 

 gray under. The face, ears and hands 

 were of a light copper color. 



The mother monkeys were most as- 

 siduous in the care of their young, but in 

 educating them one of the most impor- 

 tant lessons was to teach them to steal 

 successfully. This the pupils learned 

 with ease, and to find a Rhesus Monkey 

 which could not steal would be a curios- 

 ity indeed. 



While in Simla we were told the oft- 

 repeated story of Lady Barker's dinner. 

 Lady Barker, desiring to give a dinner to 

 a Jarge number of guests, took unusual 

 pains in the preparation of the feasi. 

 With her own hands she arranged the 

 flowers, and in the most attractive man- 

 ner were placed upon the table all the 

 delicacies possible to procure, far and 

 near. When everything was arranged 

 to her entire satisfaction, she retired to ar- 

 ray herself for the reception of her guests. 

 The servants were left in charge of the 

 rooms, but instead of watching the tables, 

 they deserted their posts to amuse them- 

 selves in a more congenial way. Imagine 

 the surprise and consternation when, 

 upon descending to the dining room, she 

 found it filled with guests, but not those 

 whom she had invited. A large band of 

 monkeys had entered through the win- 

 dows and were enjoying themselves with- 

 out restraint. Poor Lady Barker had 

 nothing left to offer her invited guests 

 but the spoiled remains of her sump- 

 tuous feast. Her little lap-dog "Fury" 

 met with an untimely death by the hands 

 of probably this same band of monkeys. 

 The dog waged war on the creatures 

 at every opportunity, but one day a large 



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