14 
MONKEYS. 
thus fastened up, it was found impossible to 
hit him with a stone at the distance of a few 
yards. He would either catch it like a ball 
in his paw, or avoid it with the most sur- 
prising agility. 
The varieties of the monkey class are very 
numerous. Every country of the torrid zone 
swarms with these restless, petulant, and trou- 
blesome animals ; and every forest is enlivened 
by their frolicsome gambols. The inhabitants 
of those regions regard monkeys as one of 
the greatest pests, for they often do incredible 
damage to the fields of Indian corn and rice, 
and are not less destructive to fruit. Their 
system of pillage resembles that of the ba- 
boon, and is conducted with equal sagacity, 
caution, and dexterity. They are also very 
troublesome to travellers, pelting them with 
stones, dirt, and branches of trees. Like all 
the other species of this tribe, monkeys mani- 
fest extraordinary attachment to their young. 
