HABITS OF THE GUENONS. 
105 
young Monkeys and an old Anubis Baboon alone took no notice of tlie Snake. He then placed the 
stuffed specimen oil the ground in one of the larger compartments. After a time all the Monkeys 
collected round it in a large circle, and staring intently, presented a most ludicrous appearance. They 
became extremely nervous, so that when a wooden ball with which they were familiar as a plaything 
was accidentally moved in the straw under which it was partly hidden, they all instantly started away. 
These monkeys behaved very differently when a fish, a mouse, and some other new objects were placed 
in the cage ; for though at first frightened they soon approached, handled and examined them. lie 
then placed a living Snake in a paper bag, with the mouth closed loosely, in one of the larger 
compartments. One ot the Monkeys immediately approached, cautiously opened the bag a little, 
peeped in, and instantly dashed away. Then he witnessed what Brehm has described, for Monkey 
after Monkey with head raised high, and 
turned on one side, could not resist taking 
momentary peeps into the upright bag at the 
dreadful creature lying at the bottom. 
It would appear as if Monkeys had some 
notion of zoological affinities, for those kept by 
Brehm exhibited a strange though mistaken in- 
stinctive dread of innocent Lizards and Frogs. 
Birds of prey attack them, and not 
always with a successful result ; and there 
is a story of a little Guenon being darted at 
by an Eagle, who swooped down and struck 
it, but it did not get off', for a rush was made 
against the bird by several of the active 
elders, and they not only held it, but nearly 
plucked off all its feathers, so that when it 
got away it remembered for ever after the 
treatment it received. The Guenons are 
very choleric, and the expression of the face 
and of the mouth, and the shrill sounds 
which are emitted when they are angered, 1ACE 0F THB I)1ANA M0NKKY - 
would probably be accompanied by extremely 
bad language were they men ; but their rage is soon over, and some mutual tail-pulling and biting are 
the worst part of it. There is a curious defiant look about the eyes of some, with or without extreme 
restlessness of them ; they seem to be the very embodiment of cunning and sharpness, and this look 
is really very peculiar to the group. By way of additional force of expression, those which are verv 
fond of fighting with their teeth have the power of drawing back their ears like angry Dogs ; and this 
is done by the action of a muscle which springs from the ear-bone behind the ear, and is attached to it 
behind. There is just a rudiment of this muscle in man. Usually very good-tempered when young, 
like all the Quadrumana, they grow cross, savage, and uncertain in temper when old ; there are some 
exceptions to this, but, on the other hand, so savage do some of them become, that breaking or 
removing their great upper canine teeth appears to be the only way of making them behave at all 
properly. The loss of these fine weapons of offence lias a most humiliating effect on the most insolent 
and petulant of them. Many are very pretty, and are as elaborately coloured as the Done, that prince 
of beautiful Semnopitheci ; and this leads to their destruction, for every now and then, besides the 
native desire to have some fine Monkey skins, European ladies desire Monkey muffs, and many an 
irascible chatterer out of the woods of Western Africa has its skin paraded by the fashion. Bright 
ied, green, fawn, yellow, and white colours are constantly mixed up with black shades, and every tint 
of grey is dotted here and there. The hair is longer in some parts than in others, especially about the 
cheeks and chin; one has a white spot on its nose, another has white moustaches, and a third a white 
band across the forehead. And these tints, and the disproportion of the long hairs, have served 
to identify the different kinds. 
The Guenons occasionally breed in menageries, and thus opportunities have been afforded of 
