Howling Monkeys. MAMMALIA. The Weepers. 39 
hand, when the assembly indemnifies itself for the 
previous restraint by bursting at once into clamour. 
Marcgrave adds, that they again become silent at a sign 
from the chief, who then resumes his howling for a 
time. When he ceases the assembly breaks up. This 
tale evidently contains great exaggerations; but it is 
quite possible that one of the monkeys may commence 
the howling, and the reports of more trustworthy 
travellers prove that a single individual is quite capable 
of producing a most unbearable noise. 
The structure by which these creatures are enabled 
to give utterance to sounds apparently so out of all 
proportion to their size, is of a very curious nature. 
The two sides or branches of the lower jaw are enor- 
mously enlarged, so that they form a pair of bony 
plates descending vertically from the skull, and, when 
seen from the side, appear fully as large as the latter. 
Between these is a rounded bony case, consisting of 
the central part of the hyoid or tongue-bone, inflated 
into a thin hollow ball. This receives a membranous 
pouch, which communicates with the larynx, and it is 
by the reverberation of the voice in the hollow space 
thus formed, that it acquires the tremendous power to 
which we have just referred. 
In their habits the howlers are dull and morose; 
their movements are slow; and they live in small parties 
under the guidance of a chief, who is always an old 
male. The latter is said to place himself in an elevated 
situation, to guard against the approach of danger to the 
little band under his care; but, notwithstanding this 
precaution, the animals may be easily approached, 
although it would appear to be by no means safe to 
stand under the trees occupied by them, as a sudden 
fright sometimes produces very disagreeable effects. 
In passing from branch to branch, the howlers, in com- 
mon with many other American monkeys, make use 
of their tail as a fifth hand; and so great is its pre- 
hensile power, that, even after the animal is killed, it 
not unfrequently remains suspended by the tail. In 
some places they are eaten by the Indians, after being 
roasted on a spit ; but the resemblance of the body 
of one of these monkeys, when skinned, to that of a 
child, always causes Europeans to regard such food 
with a feeling of repugnance. The female produces 
only one at a birth, which she carries on her back. 
The Red Howler {Mycetes Seniculus), called the 
Alouate by Buffon, and the Royal Monkey, or King 
of the Monkeys, by the South American Indians, is 
a native of Guiana, where it inhabits only the woods 
in the lower grounds. Its length, to the root of the 
tall, is usually twenty-two inches, and the tail is of 
about the same length. The general colour of the 
hair is a fine red, brighter on the head and limbs; 
the face is naked and black. Several other species 
are found in different parts of the South American 
continent. Amongst these, the most abundant and 
most widely distributed appears to be the Brawn 
Howler {M. Ursinus), which occurs in several pro- 
vinces of Brazil. It is the monkey whose habits fur- 
nished Marcgrave with the foundation for the story 
given above, and this has obtained for it the name of 
the Preacher monkey. 
THE HORNED MONKEY {Cehvs fatuellus), Plate 2, 
fig. 7. The Sapajous, Sajous, or Capuchins {Cebus), 
also called Weepers, from their plaintive cry, include a 
considerable number of American monkeys. In their 
general form they resemble the howlers, but are always 
of smaller stature and less robust form. Their heads 
are short and rounded, and their tails, although prehen- 
sile, are destitute of the naked space at the extremity, 
which gives that organ, in the howlers and spider- 
monkeys, such a firm grasp of any object round which 
it may be coiled. Their hands are furnished with per- 
fect thumbs, both on the fore and hind limbs. 
In nearly all the species the face is bordered by a 
profusion of long hair, which gives the little creatures 
a most formidably-whiskered appearance, and the top 
of the head is often similarly provided. In the horned 
monkey the hair of this part forms two strong black 
tufts, which give the creature the appearance of being 
furnished with horns. Its general colour is chestnut 
red, with the chest and belly bright red, and the 
limbs and tail brown. It is an inhabitant of Brazil 
and Guiana. 
These monkeys live in troops in the boundless forests 
of the South American continent, where they feed upon 
fruits, seeds, insects, and corn, and also upon small birds 
and their eggs. In their turn they furnish a considerable 
portion of the food of the small carnivorous quadru- 
peds, such as the ocelots, which abound in the American 
forests, and which are very arboreal in their habits. 
The sajous are of a gentle disposition, and easily tamed, 
when they may be taught a number of amusing tricks. 
They are frequently brought to Europe, not only for 
exhibition in menageries, but also to be carried about 
by itinerant musicians, who teach them to go through a 
variety of evolutions, such as firing off a small gun, 
and sweeping up the platform on which they are exhi- 
bited with a miniature broom. Their intelligence is 
very considerable : they will break a nut which is too 
strong for their teeth by beating it between two stones ; 
and a specimen which was living some years ago in 
the menagerie at Paris, would light a lucifer match by 
rubbing it upon the wall of his cage, and then hold it 
in his fingers and watch it burning without the least 
fear. Eengger, in his “ Natural History of the Mam- 
malia of Paraguay,” mentions several circumstances 
illustrative of the high degree of intelligence posses.sed 
by these monkeys. They peel oranges, and tear the 
wings and legs off the larger insects before eating them. 
When a living bird is given to them, they first bite a 
hole in the skull, through which they extract the brain, 
then pluck off the feathers, tear the bird limb from 
limb, and finally gnaw the flesh off the separate bones. 
On giving an egg to a young one for the first time, he 
would break it very clumsily, and make a shocking 
mess with it ; but in a short time he learnt by experi- 
ence to break the end gently against a solid body, 
pick off the pieces, and then suck out the contents 
without losing a drop. This mode of sucking eggs is 
also adopted by the spider-monkeys, and some others. 
But perhaps the most remarkable instance of intelli- 
gence presented by the sajous is the following : — Reng- 
gerhad been in the habit of giving his specimens small 
quantities of sugar twisted up in paper. One day he 
inclosed living wasps in the papers, and the unfortu- 
