86 
THE SAKIS. 
Of this ornament the Cnxio is mightily careful, protecting its facial ornament with a 
veneration equal to that beard- worship for which the medieval Spanish noble was world- 
famous. It is even more fastidious in this respect than the Diana monkey, whose beard -pro- 
tecting customs have been alluded to on page 43. The Diana will hold its beard aside when it 
drinks 5 but the more cautious Cuxio forbears to put its face near the water. Instead of 
drinking a deep draught by suction, as is the custom with most monkeys, it scoops up the 
liquid in the palm of its hand, and so avoids the danger of wetting its beard. 
This curious habit, however, is but rarely witnessed, as the animal dislikes to exhibit its 
fastidiousness before spectators, and only when it thinks itself unwatched will it use its 
natural goblet. When in the presence 
of witnesses it drinks as do other mon- 
keys, wetting its beard without com- 
punction. 
The general color of this monkey 
is a grizzled brown, sometimes speckled 
with rust-colored hairs, and the limbs, 
tail, and head are black. If, however, 
the hair of the body be blown aside, 
a grayish hair takes the place of the 
dark brown ; for the hairs are much 
lighter towards their insertion, and 
in many cases are nearly white. The 
hair of the head is remarkable for 
the mode of its arrangement, which 
gives it an air as if it had been 
parted artificially. The long black 
hairs start from a line down the 
centre of the head, and fall over the 
temples so densely that they quite 
conceal the ears under their thick 
locks. The large quantity of hair 
that decorates the head and face in- 
creases the really great comparative 
size of the rounded head. The nostrils 
are rather large, and are separated 
from each other by a dividing carti- 
lage which is larger than is usual 
even in the American monkeys. 
The teeth are so sharp and the jaws so strong, that Humboldt has seen the animal, when 
enraged, drive its weapons deeply into a thick plank. When it suffers from a fit of passion, 
it grinds these sharp teeth, leaps about in fury, and rubs the extremity of its long beard. 
Even when slightly irritated, it grins with savage rage, threatening the offender with menacing 
grimaces, and winkling the skin of its jaws and face. 
It is not known to live in companies, as is the wont of most American monkeys, but passes 
a comparatively solitary life, limiting its acquaintance to its partner and its family. The cry 
of this animal is rather powerful, and can be heard at a considerable distance. The color of 
the female Cuxio is not so dark as that of her mate, being almost wholly of a rusty brown. It 
is chiefly nocturnal in its habits. 
There are several monkeys known by the name of Sakis, among which are reckoned the 
Cuxio, which has just been described, and two other species, which are easily distinguished 
from each other by the color of their heads. The first of these animals is the Black Yarke, 
or White-headed Saki, and the other the Cacajao, or Black-headed Saki. 
The former of these Sakis is a rather elegant creature in form, and of color more varied 
than those of the Cuxio. As will be seen from the accompanying engraving, the head is sur- 
THE SAIMJRL— CaUithrix sciurea. 
