FOREST AND STREAM. 
8B9 
Visits with Apes^ and [Monkeys. 
III.— Visits with New World Monkeys. 
With the exception of the marmosets, which can be 
distinguished from all other monkeys, by their pigmy 
size, and long, sharp claws on all fingers and toes- 
except the great toe — the New World monkeys can be 
told by the following prominent dififerences: 
The wide partition between the nostrils and the lack 
of naked callosities. In size none compares with the 
largest monkeys of the Old World. While they also 
lack cheek pouches, one cannot detect this without a 
close inspection. Should you see a monkey while at- 
tempting to elude pursuit, carrying some small article 
in his hand which he could easily put in cheek pouches, 
you would be safe in concluding that he came from 
tropical America; or should you see him hanging by 
his tail, or using it to grasp, you can rightly come to 
the same conclusion, for no Old World monkey has 
a prehensile tail, neither do all American primates. 
Another feature, if you could examine their mouths, 
you would find that American monkeys have thirty- 
six teeth, while the others have but thirty-two. 
Nature has played some funny pranks with the mon- 
keys. As has been seen, many of the Old World mon- 
keys have cheek pouches, and all possess naked cal- 
losities, while those of the Western Hemisphere lack 
both. The spider and wooly monkeys, howlers and 
capuchins — American monkeys — are the only ones that 
have prehensile tails, and as if to partly balance this 
great advantage, which really is equal to a fifth hand, 
nature in several cases, and not in others, has taken 
away their thumbs, or given them but rudiments. With 
a group of African monkeys — the thumbless monkeys — 
she has been so mean as to deprive them of prehensile 
tails and thumbs also. What a mess! 
The monkeys of the Western Hemisphere are of mild 
disposition; even when their capture is attempted, in- 
stead of resisting the keeper and fighting to the last, 
as many of the Old World monkeys generally do, 
they show great fear, and when captured scream with 
fright until convinced that no harm is to befall them. 
They make friends easily and can usually be trusted. 
Of the few representatives in the London Zoological 
Gardens, the most intelligent were a pair of smooth- 
headed capuchins. They were known to their friends 
as the "Jiin™3' monkeys." Their looks and actions 
were so, nearly alike, that a description of one monkey 
will suffice for both. 
T did not make many visits to the building before 
this little fellow began to recognize me, though he 
had always been friendlj^ His cage was large and con- 
tained many other primates. Even though at play 
when I entered, he always came to say good morning, 
and with a very serious, yet amusing expression, he 
told in monkey language and actions how glad he was 
to see me. After such an outburst of pleasure, he 
played with my watch and chain, and when I left him 
he followed to the end of the cage and continued his 
chatter. He was extremely jealous of his companions, 
and would attack anj'^ that came near. As long as the 
monkey ran he would chase it, but when it turned, he 
lost his nerve and hurried to me for protection, then 
would face about and suddenly become very brave, 
looking back to see if I had deserted him. 
He must have envied the Old World monkeys their 
cheek pouches, for when given two or three large Eng- 
lish pennies, he was at a loss what to do with them. 
When he came to the front of the cage the human 
aiionke3'^s tried to take them from him, and if he climbed 
to the perches, the other monke3fs clustered about. 
Sometimes he carried a penny in his mouth and the 
others in his hand; again he would hobble about on 
three legs with the coins clasped against his breast. 
He would hammer them on the iron cross bars, and 
often tried to crack English walnuts in the same man- 
ner. 
Nothing pleased Jim more than raw eggs, and the 
skill with which he handled them was really remark- 
able. On being given one he carried it to a perch, and 
clasping it with both hands, carefully cracked one end 
on the bar, picked the shell open, and, raising the egg 
above his head, he tilted it, and lapped the flowing con- 
tents, allowing little if any to waste. While endeav- 
oring to escape pursuers, he sometimes crushed the 
egg, and in his eagerness to save the yolk, covered his 
hands and face, and was a sight indeed. 
Rats had gnawed a hole in one corner of the cage 
and at night carried oft' nuts and bits of bread. One 
day I noticed a number of monkeys seated in a circle 
around the rat hole; presently a rat appeared, and the 
monkeys scampered away. Jim was the only one that 
held his ground. He stood a few feet from the hole, 
and when the rat returned, Jim waited until he had 
ventured several feet from the hole, then quick as 
lightning caught the rodent, and before it had time to 
bite him, he buried his teeth in its skull. He spent the 
afternoon chewing its_ head and hammering it about 
the cage, refusing to yield his prize until compelled to. 
I took a four months' t *p on the Continent, and 
on my return was told that ne of the Jimmy monkeys 
had died. His mate had been transferred to an ad- 
joining cage, which I passed, and while looking for him 
I was greeted from behind by his familiar voice, and 
for several minutes he sent forth a perfect warble of 
notes, sounding more like a bird than the harsh cries 
usualh^ heard from monkeys. 
All the monkeys took pleasure in teasing and frolick- 
ing with cage mates, but none was so persistently buf- 
I'nonish as a pair of brown spider monkeys. Their 
slim bodies, extremelj- long limbs and slender, pre- 
hensile tails, made their , actions all the more i-idicu- 
lous, and they held a crowd of interested spectators 
constantly about them. Always . active and looking 
for a chance to make the lives of their associates mis- 
eralile, they never lingered long with any one visitor. 
The ease with which they swung hand over hand 
about the cage gave the onlookers some idea of the 
racefulness with which they handle themselves when 
moving among the trees in their native forests. 
They took great delight in teasing a young weeping 
aptichiiii probably because he wa.s unable to defend 
himself, and finally so intimidated him that Avhen a 
spider moved in his direction he squalled at the top of 
his lungs. While he was peacefully seated in a corner 
watching the visitors, one of the spiders would hang 
by his tail, reach down and catch the capuchin by his 
tail, and after swinging him about in mid-air, toss him 
upon the straw, or, crossing the floor like a huge 
spider, took a position in front of the squalling capu- 
chin and snatched at him, first with one hand, then 
the other, then suddenly catching him by the tail, 
hauled him into the center of the cage, and watch him 
scurry back to his favorite corner. Finally the at- 
tendant was obliged to remove him to another cage. 
I have seen one of these spider monkeys swing back 
and forth on a rope, and at a favorable opportunity 
catch the tail of a capuchin that was holding to the 
side of the cage. When the spider swung back the 
momentum wrenched the capuchin's feet loose, and 
then he hung, suspended in the air, clinging by his 
hands while the spider held him by the tail. The 
monkey that succeeded in keeping his position on the 
perch while a spider was passing, was fortunate in^ 
deed. 
The collection of American monkeys was small, and 
with the exception of the two species mentioned, un- 
interesting and not worthy of notice. 
Before closing this chapter I should like to give the 
reader some idea of what the monkeys in some zoologi- 
cal parks have to contend with, taking, for example, 
the gardens under consideration. 
In the morning school children entered free of 
charge; they came in droves, accompanied hy their 
teachers, and were marched through the buildings 
double file. As soon as the monkeys saw them they 
pas.sed the word from cage tO' cage, and as the chil- 
dren entered shouting and laughing, the house was 
thrown into an uproar. The monkeys sprang to the 
sides of their cages, and as the children moved along 
they were met by defiant looks and cries. After their 
departure it was some time before the monkeys 
quitted. 
In the afternoon cam^ the regular visitors, some of 
which had less sense and certainly less feeling than 
their predecessors. 
One would be astonished if he knew the number of 
grown persons who delight in tormenting, and in some 
cases treating brutally, unfortunate caged animals, I 
once came near engaging in a fight while protecting 
one of my pets. A ruffian punched his cane through 
the netting, and catching my Jimmy monkey, squeezed 
him against a cross-bar, I heard Jim's cries of pain, 
and as the crowd was so dense T could not reach the 
fellow, I batted him over the head several times with 
my umbrella. He turned quickly and said, that if I 
would come outside, he would "punch in my bloom- 
ing face," but as my face was something of an heir- 
loom, that dated back several years before my remem- 
brance, and as the fellow's physique and actions con- 
vinced me that if I accepted his offer it would be sev- 
eral months before my face would again assume its 
normal "bloom," I declined with thanks. 
Holidays are always dreaded by keepers of zoologi- 
cal gardens, for they frequently result in the death of 
some animal, caused by being overfed. The night be- 
fore and on the morning of such days the monkeys 
are fed a good supply of fruit, that their appetites may 
be small, and their stomachs in good condition to re- 
ceive the variety of "junk" that is sure to be given 
thejn. The timely arrival of keepers sometimes averts 
injury to monkeys that have become tangled in pieces 
of cord given to them by visitors. For these reasons 
valuable and delicate animals are kept behind glass- 
fronted cages, or out of public sight entirely. 
After a "Bank Holiday" in London, during which 
36,000 persons visited the Zoological Gardens in Re- 
gents Park, the following articles were taken from 
three large cages in the monkey house: A bushel of 
assorted nuts and candies, three pairs of spectacles, 
two bottles, two spools of thread — which the monkeys 
had unwound — several tin boxes, nails, marbles, pen- 
cils, pennies, and a great many pieces of plain glass 
and looking glass. J. Alden Loring. 
OWEGO, N. Y. 
Grouse Self-Killing. 
Editor Forest and Stream: 
I was interested in the article under the above head- 
ings, in last week's issue of Fore.st and Stream. 
I cannot furnish its parallel as to the number of 
grouse killed on one window, but can cite a case where 
a grouse has been killed by flying against a plate glass 
window. A¥hile visiting at Theresa a few years ago 
Mr. Richard Rodenlunt, a hardware merchant, told 
me a grouse had been killed the day before by flying 
against the window of his store. I asked him what 
time of the day it happened, as I had my reasons for 
knowiiig. The time given me corresponded with the 
time I had shot at a grouse that morning in a small 
piece of woods about a quarter of a mile from his 
store, and which fled precisely in that direction. I 
asked Mr. R. where I could see the grouse; he said 
that it had been eaten. Had I seen it I could have 
told whether it was the same grouse or not that I had 
shot at, as I had cut one of the tail feathers out and 
had it to show, but there is little doubt that it was. 
I know of four occurrences near my home in Lock- 
port, where grouse have flown against houses or 
through windows. The last instance the grouse flew 
through a window and into the hands of a lady over 
eighty years of age. The family kept it in a box a 
few days, then presented it to me. I kept it in a box 
with wire screen in front of it for six weeks. I then 
made a brush pile of apple tree linibs in the corner 
of a hen yard, where I had lost a number of chickens 
with croup. After clipping one wing of the grouse 
1 turned it lousc in the yard. The grouse had done 
well while confined in the box, and would eat from my 
hand. But within a week, after turning it loose in the 
yard, it died, just as the chickens had, with croup. 
I have passed six weeks in this cottage this season; 
the past week with some friends from Lockport, Our 
lard?r has contained grOuse, woodcock, or gray squir- 
rels since the day after our arrival. At present there 
are one grouse, two woodcock, one squirrel, and a 
pickerel (lake pike), and we have the very richest milk 
(Jersey cows), which we procure of a boyhood com- 
panion of mine, who is farmer, hunter and trapper, and 
of whom I will have more to say later. 
J. L, Davison. 
WiLDWooD Cottage, Red Lake, Theresa, N. Y , Oct 23. 
P, S, — Apropos of birds flying against windows. 
i\bout 5 o'clock this morning, while I lay awake wait- 
ing for the time (6 o'clock) to get up, a screech owl 
flew against the window in my room, trying to alight 
on the middle bar of the screen. 
Sayre, Pa., Oct. 25. — The domestic joys of a Main 
street, Athens, family were rudely disturbed last Tuesday 
when a ruffled grouse plunged through the glass of the 
kitchen window and fell to the floor stunned and quite 
helpless. Before the members of the household had re- 
covered from their surprise the bewildered bird took wing 
and made an unceremonious exit. 
While driving through Danby, N. Y., last Sunday, I 
observed a trio of bluebirds plaintively calling from the 
gnarled surface of a stump fence. The day was raw and 
moist with flashes of sunshine chasing each other across 
the brown meadows, and the bluebirds were apparently 
enjoying these sunny visitations to the utmost. 
The season seems far advanced for these beautiful mi- 
grants to be lingering in the snow belt of the country. 
While on this same ride a mighty army of crows was 
encountered. The sable marauders swept meadow after 
meadow until the whole landscape on both sides of the 
highway literally grew black with the harsh-toned host. 
With twent yyears of life in the country as part of my 
varied experience, I had never seen so many crows travel- 
ing together. They would close down upon a number ot 
fields, throwing out an encircling line of pickets, and thus 
guarded, feed contentedly for a brief interim, only to rise 
upon the wind with the precision of an infantry drill at 
the first indication of anything unusual occurring in the 
vicinity. 
It was a remarkable and altogether interesting array of 
audacious foragers, and one not often witnessed. Al- 
though a notorious bird of theft, the crow has a social 
quality and an independence that puts him well within 
the good estimation of most farmers. 
While as a boy I used to shoot crows on sight, I now 
think that the country, with all its delightful inducements, 
would be a dreary place, indeed, without the presence of 
these ebony freebooters. M. Chill 
Biszzztd and Baty. 
Mariana, Fla., Oct. 26.— On the afternoon of the 21st 
inst., two citizens of Lakeland, Fla., while driving just 
outside of the town limits, saw a most remarkable sight. 
A wornan at work in a field had laid her baby on the 
ground and stepped a little ways off, when a large turkey 
buzzard attempted to carry the child off. 
When the men saw it the buzzard apparently had en- 
tangled its claws in the child's clothing, but could not 
carry the child off, and was flopping across the field, 
dragging the child. The frantic mother called for help, 
and the two men went to the rescue. Just as they 
reached the bird it released itself from the child's cloth- 
ing and flew .away. The child was tmhurt, and was 
restored to its mother, but it was a narrow escape for 
the little one, W, A, M, 
[The feet of the turkey buzzard are not adapted for 
grasping, and they are not known to carry food in the 
feet. The entanglement of the feet in the clothing must 
have been accidental,] 
October Swallows. 
Theresa, N. Y,, Oct. 23, — Editor Forest and Stream: 
Early last Monday morning, Oct, 19, while watching 
for ducks on the overflowed flats on Indian River, I 
was surprised at the appearance of hundreds of tree- 
swallows (white-bellied) flying back and forth over the 
Avater; they came all about me, I could almost reach 
them with my gun. I was so interested in the swallows 
that I fear I missed some good shots at ducks; suffice 
to say that I did not get a duck, but I got wet while 
sitting behind a hastily constructed blind in the rain. 
J, L. D. 
[Our correspondent knows as well any one that the 
white-bellied swallow is the earliest of the swallows to 
arrive in spring and the last to leave in the autumn. 
On Oct. 21 we saw a few hawking about not very far 
from New York City.] 
Game Cookery. 
Editor Forest and Stream: ' • ■ - 
I have had several sportsmen's publications for j'ears 
and one thing in particular I notice is absent and that 
is "receipts and way of dressing and cooking game." 
That's something that many of us, or our wives, don't 
know much about. I should be pleased to hear from 
some who know how to do it to their taste. 
J. W. B. 
In "Hints and Points for Sportstnen" Seneca gives 
these two recipes for camp cookery: 
372. Stewed Game. — Ducks, rabbits, in fact all kinds of 
game may be stewed. Cut them into small pieces after 
cleaning, and put into a pot containing enough cold 
water to a little more than cover them, A minced 
onion, small pieces of salt pork, vegetables, etc., may 
be added. Season with salt and pepper, cover the pot 
and let it simmer until the flesh can be easily pierced 
with a sharp sliver. 
373. Roasting Small Game. — Squirrels, birds, etc., may 
be roasted on a stick before a fire of piping hot coals. 
Clean the game, impale it on a stick with a piece of 
fat pork, and set the stick in the ground before the 
coals. Turn frequently and baste with the drippings, 
which should be caught in a cup or large spoon. When 
a sharp sliver will easily go into the breast they are 
done. Pigeons, squirrels, hares or rabbits, ducks and 
grouse should be parboiled before roasting. 
