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170 



Europe *. When we consider the dimensions 

 of the boney cavity of the alouates, and the 

 great number of howling monkeys that seat 

 themselves on a single tree in the forests of 

 Guiana and Cumana, we are less astonished at 

 the force and volume of their blended voices. 



The araguato, which the Tamanac Indians 

 call aravata and the Maypures, marave, re- 

 sembles a young bear. It is three feet long, 

 reckoning from the top of the head, which is 

 small and very pyramidal, to the beginning of 

 the prehensile tail ; it's fur is bushy, and of a 

 reddish brown ; the breast and belly are both 

 covered with a fine hair, and not naked as in 

 the mono Colorado, or alouate roux of BufFon, 

 which we carefully examined, in going from 



* Zoolog. Obs., V. i, p. 8, pi. 4, No. 9. 



f Gomara (Hist, general de los Ind. cap. 80, p. 104). Fray 

 Pedro Simon (Noticias de la Cotiquista de Tierra Firme, 1626 : 

 not. 4, c. 25, p. 317), and Father Caulin (Hist. Cor. p. 33), 

 describe this monkey by the names of aranata, and araguato. 

 In both names we easily discover the same root. The v has 

 been transformed into g and n. The name of arabata, which 

 Gumilla gives to the howling apes of the Lower Oroonoko, 

 and which Mr. Geoffroy thinks belongs to the s. straminea 

 of Great Para, is still the same Tamanac word aravata. 

 This identity of names ought not to surprise us. We shall 

 soon see, that the language of the Chayma Indians of Cu- 

 mana is one of the numerous branches of the Tamanac lan- 

 guage, and that the latter is connected with the Caribbee 

 language of the Lower Oroonoko. 



