TEE NEGRO MONKEY . 
87 
Wallace, in his charming book of travels in the great Islands of Sumatra and Borneo, thus notices 
how full of life they are : — “In Sumatra, Monkeys are very abundant, and at Lubo Raman they used 
to frequent the trees which overhang the guard-house, and gave me a fine opportunity of observing their 
gambols. Two species of Semnopithecus were most plentiful — Monkeys of a slender form, with very 
long tails. Not being much shot at, they are rather bold, and remain quite unconcerned when natives 
alone are present ; but when I came out to look at them, they would stare for a minute or two, and 
then make off. They take tremendous leaps from the branches of one tree to those of another a little 
lower. It is very amusing when one strong leader takes a bold jump, to see the others following 
with more or less trepidation ; and it often happens that one or two of the last seem quite unable 
to make up their minds to leap till the rest are disappearing, when, as if in desperation at being left 
behind, they would leap as far as they could, and often come crashing down into the underwood.” 
The Semnopitheci may be described as Monkeys with hind limbs long, and larger than the fore 
limbs, with slender bodies, usually highest at the tail, and round heads, and with not very prominent 
faces, and very long tails. They have callous pads on the haunch-bones, and in some there are slight 
folds inside the cheeks, but no pouches. The hands have thumbs, and the last tooth of the lower jaw 
(the third molar) has a prominent heel to it, or cusp, besides four others. They are of all sizes, 
and the largest are bigger than a Pointer Dog ; but they are all slightly made, and their long bodies, 
thin as a rule, are larger in the stomach than in the chest. Their tails, which hang down and are 
not curled up, distinguish them pretty readily. 
The Monkey which shows the peculiarities of the genus Semnopithecus more than others is, 
perhaps, 
THE. BLACK-CIiESTED MONKEY, OR THE SIMPAI. # 
It was noticed and described by Sir Stamford Raffles as a native of Sumatra, where it is frequently 
seen in the neighbourhood of Bencoolen. It has a long and slender body, very long hind-legs, and the 
tail end is higher than the shoulders in walking. The fore-legs are short, and the tail is very long, and 
exceeds thirty inches in length, and the head is small and wonderfully straight in the forehead and face. 
The colours of this Simpai are very different to those of the great Apes already mentioned. Here 
variety of colour replaces the sameness of the tints of the large Anthropomorplia. First, there is a 
long crest of black hair on the top of the head, which passes slightly round the fiice close. On the 
cheeks there is a tuft of fawn-coloured hairs, which graduate into white. The forehead is of a light 
fawn-colour, and the face is naked, slightly wrinkled, and of a blue tint. The under parts of the 
body are very white, and on the back and neck the colour is bright yellow and red. The palms and 
soles are black, the thumbs are small, and the callosities are large. 
THE NEGRO MONKEY, f 
This is, as the name implies, a black Monkey. It is intensely black, except underneath, and at 
the root of the tail, where there is a grey tint. The paws are long, delicate, and silky, and become 
slightly grey on the head and back with old age. Like most black things, it leads a troubled life, 
being chased and hunted, not, however, in this instance so much for amusement as for the pretty 
black fur. They live in great troops, in the J avanese forests, and sometimes fifty or more individuals 
associate together. They make rude nests on trees, and are extremely timid, making off with great 
haste if they are disturbed. A long senes of generations has been chaslied and killed by the natives 
of Java, and therefore the present Negro Monkeys are exceedingly shy, and bolt from the fiice of man 
at once. And yet, although thus timid and anxious to get out of the way, they have the repu- 
tation of being dangerous, and really unwittingly they may be so. On the approach of men they 
utter loud screams, and scamper off amongst the trees, helter-skelter. Now in doing this, they 
break dead branches off, and sometimes a large fruit or nut comes tumbling down some score 
or two of feet. These are supposed to be thrown by the Monkeys, but such is not the case. 
Having this bad character, the “ Negroes” are cudgelled with sticks, and killed in numbers very cruelly. 
# Semnopithecus melalophus . 
t Semnopithecus maurus . 
