72 
APES AND MONKEYS. 
though apparently believed by Blyth and quoted by Jerdon, I agree with Hutton 
in regarding as fictitious, though, as the latter observer justly remarks, females 
with very young offspring may keep together, and temporarily apart from the 
remainder of the troop to which they belong.” 
In regard to the cry of these langurs, Mr. Blanford observes that “ their voice 
is loud, and is often heard, especially in the morning and evening. The two 
commonest sounds emitted by them are a loud, joyous, rather musical call, a kind 
of whoop, generally uttered when they are bounding from tree to tree, and a harsh 
guttural note, denoting alarm or anger. The latter is the cry familiar to the tiger- 
hunter, amongst whose best friends is the hanuman. Safely ensconced in a lofty 
tree, or jumping from one tree to another, as the tiger moves, the monkey by gesture 
and cry points out the position of his deadly enemy in the bushes or grass beneath, 
and swears at him heartily. It is marvellous to observe how these monkeys, even 
in the wildest forests where human beings are rarely seen, appear to recognise 
men as friends, or at least as allies against the tiger. It is a common but erroneous 
notion of sportsmen that this guttural cry is a sure indication of a tiger or 
leopard having been seen, whereas the monkeys quite as often utter it merely as an 
expression of surprise; I have heard it caused by the sight of deer running away, 
and I believe that it is frequently due to the monkeys catching sight of men.” 
The food of the hanuman consists largely of leaves and young shoots, and 
also grain of all kinds, especially in the towns. In disposition the hanuman is 
gentle, and appears never to attack human beings. Its constitution is delicate when 
in captivity,—probably from the want of suitable food,—but the species is generally 
well represented in the London Zoological Society’s Gardens. 
That troops of langurs sometimes engage in fierce contests is 
proved by an interesting account given by Mr. T. H. Hughes, from which 
the following extract is taken. Mr. Hughes says that “in April 1882, when encamped 
at the village of Singpur in the Sohagpur district of the ltewa State, my attention 
was attracted to a restless gathering of hanumans in the grove adjoining the one in 
which my tent was pitched; and, wishing to form some idea as to its cause, I strolled 
to where the excitement was greatest, and found two opposing troops engaged in 
demonstrations of an unfriendly character. Two males of one troop, fair-sized 
brutes, and one of another, a splendid-looking fellow of stalwart proportions, were 
walking round and displaying their teeth. The solitary gladiator headed a much 
smaller following than that captained by the other two, and, strange to say, instead 
of the whole number of monkeys joining in a general melee, the fortune of the 
question that had to be decided appeared to have been intrusted to the representative 
champions. It was some time, at least a quarter of an hour, before actual hostilities 
took place, when, having got within striking distance, the two monkeys made a rush 
at their adversary. I saw their arms and teeth going viciously, and then the throat 
of one of the aggressors was ripped right open, and he lay dying. He had done 
some damage, however, before going under, having wounded his opponent in the 
shoulder; and matters then seemed pretty evenly balanced between the remaining 
stragglers. I confess that my sympathies were with the one champion who had 
gallantly withstood the charge of his enemies; and I fancy the tide of victory would 
have been in his favour had the odds against him not been reinforced by the advance 
Their Battles. 
