MONKEY BABIES. 



175 



utters a sort of barking grunt, and doubtless in- 

 dulges in many other cries that are not reported. 



One would never look among the monkeys 

 for a solemn baby, yet the little Orang-Utan 

 is said to be as sober as his mamma herself. 

 Never do the hunters, or the natives of Borneo, 

 where this baby lives, see troops of youngsters 

 at play together in the woods, as they do of other 

 young monkeys, but each young orang stays 

 quietly with his mother till he is able to care for 

 himself. Then he goes with the whole troop 

 through the trees, where their days are spent, 

 eating fruit, young leaves, buds, and tender 

 shoots, and drinking the water found in the 

 leaves, — unless it happens to be dry weather, 

 when they have to come down to a stream. 



This baby does n't like to come to the ground, 

 and he is as awkward there as men are upon 

 trees, hobbling along in a clumsy way. But 

 when he gets among the branches he is at home, 

 walking along on them ' nearly straight up, 

 though going on all fours, because his arms are 

 so much longer than his legs that he need not 

 bend over to use them. 



Thus the orang goes on till he comes to the 

 end of the branch, when he reaches a limb of 

 the next tree, swings himself over, and walks 

 on. He is said never to jump about from 

 branch to branch, as do some monkeys, but 



