VI. THE DOG-SHAPED MONKEYS (continued). THE GUENONS.[39]…

VI. THE DOG-SHAPED MONKEYS (continued). THE GUENONS.[39]

THE GUENONS--Where they are Found--Early Notices of them--Resemblance to the Colobi and Macaques--Distinctive Peculiarity of the Group--Often seen in Menageries--Their Terror of Snakes--Peculiar Expression of the Face--Beauty of their Skins--Minor Divisions of the Guenons--THE DIANA MONKEY--Origin of the Name--Anecdotes of their Mischief--THE MONA MONKEY--Description of one at Paris--THE WHITE-NOSED MONKEY--Origin of the Name--THE TALAPOIN--Anatomical Peculiarities--THE GREEN MONKEY--Found in Senegal in abundance--THE RED-BELLIED MONKEY--THE RED MONKEY--Observed by Bruce--THE MANGABEY--Singularity of its Appearance--Special Structural Peculiarities.

There are vast numbers of Monkeys living in the African forests which resemble, to a certain extent, those described in the last chapter, but which have such important differences in their construction that they are separated from them, and collected in another genus. They are said only to range in Abyssinia to the Zambesi and from the Gambia to the Congo, but probably all the equatorial parts of the Continent are frequented by them, and they extend far south. They are not found in Madagascar, and, of course, they do not frequent desert places or rocky treeless districts.

Being very numerous, and extremely impudent, as a rule, and full of grimace and mischief, they soon attracted the attention of the ancients, and the beauty of the fur of some made them all the more prized. Hence they were caught, figured, and sent as presents to distant kingdoms. The ancient Egyptians knew of one, which at the present time is found in Nubia, and which is often brought to Europe, being called the Grivet. They engraved it in the catacombs of Ghizeh, whence the figure was described by Denon, and Ehrenberg and De Blainville have drawn it as represented mounted on the long neck of a Camelopard. Many coloured drawings of Egyptian origin also represent a Monkey on all-fours, with a tail curved over its back, and this is probably one of those about to be considered.

They are still called Keb or Kep in the East of Africa, and they are doubtless the κῆβος of the Greeks. Aristotle says for certain that the Cebus, as it was translated by the Latins, is an Ape with a tail.

Modern naturalists, having become acquainted with many of these species closely resembling each other in some important particulars, have arranged them all under the term Cercopithecus from κέρκος (a tail), and πίθηκος (an ape). The grimaces and odd gestures of these Monkeys have given to them the name of Guenons, and this term is now used accordingly.

At first sight they resemble the Colobi, inasmuch as they have long bodies, long hind legs, and long tails, but the fore limbs are short in the Guenons, and the tail, which is as long or longer than the body, is stout and not slender. Moreover, they have well-made and exceedingly useful cheek-pouches, besides the callosities behind. The face of the Guenons is long, and rounded, and the eyes are somewhat prominent. On examining the inside of one of these particularly African species the stomach is found to be single, and not to resemble that of the genera last described, and on looking at the lower jaw it will be found that the last crushing teeth on each side have only four points, or cusps, and not five, as in Semnopitheci. The wearing of the first premolar tooth next to the lower dog tooth, and behind it, resembles somewhat that noticed before, and which will be described in treating of the Inui, or Macaques, in the next chapter. The hands and feet are well grown, and the thumbs are long and useful.

So that the distinctive peculiarity, or what is called the diagnosis of the group, or genus Cercopithecus is--Monkeys with long hind and short fore limbs, and with long tails, cheek-pouches, single stomachs, and callosities, there being only four cusps on the last lower molar teeth.

Many of the Guenons are often seen in menageries and zoological gardens, or as the more or less unwilling companions of organ-grinders; and their trick of crowding everything into their mouth, and allowing it to distend the cheeks, is sure to be noticed. The quantity of nuts which can be stored away is enough for a good meal; and hence these Monkeys are not only good purveyors for themselves, but great robbers of the riches of cultivators. In the wild state they assemble in troops in the forest, for they are essentially tree dwellers, and make raids on all sides of their favourite home, moving with such rapidity under the shadow of leaves and boughs that they are rarely seen by men. In their own little tract of forest they are very noisy and restless; they chase away in a body all intruding Monkeys, and whilst the more aged spend their time in more or less restless movement, in occasional family jars, and in picking the insects from their young and from each other, the juvenile part of the troop are full of play, mischief, and wanton aggression upon the quietude of their elders. A Snake may appear, and there is a terrible noise made, and a general rush off out of danger, the little ones clinging to the fur of the mother, and being carried off safely in spite of her bounds and jumps from tree to tree. Or a Leopard may make a spring, and not always fruitlessly, and great is the surrounding howling and grimacing at it. The hatred of Snakes is carried into their captivity; and Mr. Darwin having read Brehm’s account of the instinctive fear which his Monkeys had of Serpents, and also of their great curiosity regarding snake-like things and their doings, took a stuffed Snake to the Monkey-house of the Zoological Gardens. The excitement which was produced, he writes, was one of the most curious spectacles ever beheld. Three species of Cercopithecus were the most alarmed. They darted about their cages, and uttered sharp cries of danger, which were understood by the other Monkeys. A few young Monkeys and an old Anubis Baboon alone took no notice of the Snake. He then placed the stuffed specimen on 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. He then placed a living Snake in a paper bag, with the mouth closed loosely, in one of the larger compartments. One of 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 instinctive 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, 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 very 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 has a most humiliating effect on the most insolent and petulant of them. Many are very pretty, and are as elaborately coloured as the Douc, 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 red, green, fawn, yellow, and white colours are constantly mixed up with black shades, and every tint of grey is clotted 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 watching their treatment of, and method of educating, their little ones. One in Paris had three baby Monkeys, one after the other, and succeeded in rearing one, the others dying. She constantly carried it, holding it close to her, so that its little mouth was always close to the breast; but after a while, as it became stronger, it clung on by itself, holding on fast with its hands to the mother’s fur, and helped itself whenever it thought fit. Then the mother appeared to pay no especial attention to the little one, and jumped and rushed about as if it had not the little burden. The father was anything but paternal, and boldly neglected the education of his child; in fact, he was quite indifferent to the mother as well, and even behaved brutally by seeking to quarrel with her. Once or twice he maltreated her, and pinched the baby, so he was locked up by himself.

This careless treatment doubtless accounts for the rapid independence of the young of the Guenons, who soon retaliate on their fathers and mothers for all the enjoyments they did not have at their hands, by endless teasings and scoldings. But all Monkeys are not thus unpaternal and unnatural, and the Baboon is singularly affectionate. At the time that the Grivet--the above-mentioned Guenon--was seen in one cage outraging all good feeling, two Chacma Baboons were in another, and the difference in their behaviour was most edifying. In the one cage sat the solitary mother and its offspring, the father having been removed for his bad temper and brutal conduct; and in the other were several male Baboons surrounding two Baboon mothers and their two little ones, caressing the mothers with the most pronounced evidence of tenderness of feeling, taking them in their arms and pressing them to their hearts, and embracing them in a manner quite human. They squabbled about who was to have the pleasure of carrying the Baboon babies, and after having passed them from one to the other, returned each one to its own mother.

As these Guenons walk on all-fours and but rarely take on the erect posture, which, moreover, they cannot maintain, their muscles are not exactly the same as in the Troglodytes and Orangs, but they resemble those of the Semnopitheci. The Guenons, like the Macaques and Baboons--those great runners on all-fours--have a special muscle to assist in pulling the shoulder-blade forward, and thus to assist the forward motion of the body. Then, in order to drag the elbow backwards in moving on all-fours, and to assist also in climbing, one of the large muscles of the back sends a slip to the back of the elbow. Climbing is also assisted by an addition to the gluteal or buttock muscles, which is called the scansorius or climbing muscle. And in the foot the front muscle of the leg has two masses; one sends a tendon which goes to the inner and front bone of the ankle, and the other right under the foot to the inner side of the long bone (metatarsal), which supports the toe-thumb.

The result of its action is to turn in the foot with a view to holding on. Finally, the two long muscles which flex or bend down the toe-thumb and the other toes are not separate, but are connected by their tendons. So that there is not great independence of the toe-thumb, but all the toes act more or less simultaneously very readily. But the other muscles of it give it more mobility than in man. Their muscular energy is immense, and their power of using the thumb is very considerable, and they pick out each other’s vermin with well-known ease.

In separating the numerous kinds of Guenons into kinds or species, paying a good amount of attention to their internal as well as external structures, that is to say, to their teeth and skull, as well as to their form, it becomes evident that some large ones form a group which closely resemble the others, but which still have more general likeness to the Monkeys which form the subject of the next chapter--the Macaques. These have been placed in a separate genus, but the necessity for doing so is not apparent, especially when the principles of the true nature of classification have been thoroughly comprehended. So the so-called genus Cercocebus (κέρκος, tail; κῆβας, monkey) is omitted, and the Monkeys included in it by some authors are to be considered as the kinds which link on the Baboons and Macaques to the Guenons. Besides these, some Guenons are stronger and stouter than others, their skins being green, or tinted more or less with that colour, and another is of a bright red colour. So that several sets of the Guenons may be established for the sake of convenience--1. The smaller kinds usually with prominent white markings. 2. One having a green skin and a black nose, and only three points or cusps on its hind lower molars. 3. The larger kinds with decidedly green tints, one being bright red. 4. And the group often called Cercocebus, which resemble the others, but have a fifth cusp on the last lower grinder on each side.

Amongst the first kind the Diana Monkey is very well known, and visitors to the Monkey-house in the Zoological Gardens in the Regent’s Park usually pay much attention to this most determined and pretty romp.

THE DIANA MONKEY.[40]

This native of Western Africa inhabits the woods of the Guinea Coast, and of the banks of the Congo, and it is found in the island of Fernando Po. It was known to European naturalists before the year 1700, and it has always been prized for its pretty fur and gay temper.

The goddess Diana has been honoured by being associated with this Monkey on account of a crescent-shaped white band of long hair stretching across the forehead (she being goddess of the crescent-shaped moon). It is about eighteen inches long when full grown, and the tail is longer than the body, and the fur is very pretty. The crescent of white hairs has dark edges, and the top of the head is broad and dull grey, spotted with green; the ears are dark and the face also; and the beard and whiskers are white, and the first of these projects like a goat’s. The broad and upper chest is white, and this colour is continued under the arms, which at their termination are black-grey. The middle of the back is a dark red-brown, and the belly is white with orange tints, and these colours are continued down the inside of the thighs. Outside these and the flanks are ash-grey and greenish. As another Monkey from the same region has a white band across the forehead, the Diana has been confounded with it, and hence very different descriptions of the colouring will be obtained by reading different authors, and even F. Cuvier jumbled the Diana and this Diadem Monkey together. Very little is known about them in their wild state, and in captivity they show very adverse dispositions; sometimes they are gay and full of fun, and at others morose and snappish. We once saw one of them in its cage in the Zoological Gardens pull its mate, a small Sykes’ Monkey, from the top to the bottom by a well-directed pull of the tail, and the proceeding reminded one of a very energetic mistress, whose servants were inattentive, tugging at a bell-rope. The puller was chattering and grimacing at his visitors all the time that the pulled was hanging on to everything that came in its way during its forced descent; and when it came to the bottom it scrambled about and rushed up to its little house again as if it were a frequent and unwilling exercise. The Diana also stole its companion’s food, such as a piece of apple, by putting her arms around its neck, and squeezing the morsel against its nose, so that it was obliged to drop it.

Mrs. Bowditch, in describing her voyage home from Western Africa, gives an interesting account of a Diana Monkey which was on board. “We made acquaintance,” she says, “very suddenly, and, to me, disagreeably, for I had not till then conquered the foolish aversion with which these animals always inspired me. It was a dead calm, the wheel was lashed, and all, save myself, below--nothing round us but sea and sky, and I had sheltered myself with a book in a corner protected from the equatorial sun. Suddenly, and without noise, something leaped upon my shoulders, and the tail which encircled my throat convinced me that Mr. Jack was my assailant. My first impulse was to beat him off, in which case I should probably have received some injury; but fortunately I sat perfectly still, and twisting himself round he brought his face opposite to mine and stared at me. I endeavoured to speak kindly to him, upon which he grinned and chattered, seated himself on my knees, and carefully examined my hands. He then tried to pull off my rings, and was proceeding to a bite for this purpose when I gave him some biscuit which happened to lie beside me, and making a bed for him with a handkerchief he settled himself comfortably to sleep, and from that moment we were sworn allies. The amusement afforded to me and others by Jack made him tolerated when his mischievous propensities would otherwise have condemned him to perpetual confinement. He was often banished to an empty hen-coop, but as this made no impression upon him I always tried to prevent it, which he knew so well that when he had done wrong he either hid himself or sought refuge near me. Much more effect was produced by taking him within sight of the Panther, who always seemed most willing to devour him. On these occasions I held him by the tail in front of the cage, but long before I reached it, knowing where he was going, he pretended to be dead--his eyes were closed quite fast, and every limb was as stiff as if there were no life in him. When taken away he would open one eye a little to see whereabouts he might be, but if he caught a glimpse of the cage it was instantly closed, and he became as stiff as before. He clambered into the hammocks, stole the men’s knives, tools, handkerchiefs, and even the nightcaps off their heads, all of which went into the sea. When biscuit was toasting between the bars of the caboose, and the dried herbs boiling in the tin mugs, he would take the former out and carry it away, and take out the latter and trail them along the planks; if he burnt his hands he desisted for a day or two; and he often regaled the Parrots with the biscuit, biting it in small pieces, and feeding them with the utmost gravity. At other times he would knock their cages over, lick up the water thus spilled, eat the lumps of sugar, and pull the birds’ tails: and in this manner he killed a beautiful green Pigeon belonging to the steward, a specimen of which I never saw in any collection. For this he was flogged and imprisoned three days; and half an hour after he was let out I met him scampering round the deck with two blue-faced Monkeys on his back, which he often carried about in this manner. When he thought fit to ride, he would watch behind a cask on the days the Pigs were let loose, dart on to their backs as they passed, dig his nails into them to keep himself on, and the faster they ran and the more they squealed the happier he seemed to be. His most important misdemeanours, however, were performed to the injury of his fellow Monkeys, of whom he was very jealous. The smaller ones were very obsequious to him, and when he called them by a peculiar noise, they came, hanging their heads and looking very submissive, and in one week two were drowned out of sheer malice. I saw him throw the first overboard, and the poor little thing swam after us some time, but the ship was going too fast for even a rope to be effectually thrown out in the hope he would cling to it. During one of the calms we so often met with, the men had been painting the outside of the ship, and leaving their pots and brushes on the deck, went down to dinner. No one was above but myself, the helmsman, and Jack. The latter beckoned and coaxed a black Monkey to him; then seizing him by the neck, took a brushful of white paint, and deliberately covered him with it in every direction. The helmsman and I burst into a laugh, upon which Jack, dropping his victim, flew up the rigging into the maintop, where he stood with his black nose between the bars peeping at what was going on below. The little metamorphosed beast began licking himself, but the steward being summoned, he washed him with turpentine, and no harm was sustained. Many attempts were made to catch the rogue aloft, but he eluded all, and when he was driven down by hunger, he watched his opportunity and sprang from one of the ropes on to my lap, where he knew he should be safe. I fed and interceded for him, so he escaped with only a scolding, which he received with an appearance of shame which in him was rather ludicrous.”

THE MONA MONKEY.[41]

The term Mona means tailed Apes or Monkeys, and it has been especially given to one from Senegal, which has some resemblance to the Diana, and it is mentioned here with a view of illustrating its mental peculiarities. They are more beautiful in colour and more elegant in form than the Diana, and they are sometimes more gentle, sagacious, and sharp than any other kind. F. Cuvier describes one which was a great favourite in the collection at Paris. Upon his arrival he was extremely young, and his gentleness and total want of malice and petulance gained him the free range of the apartment. Age did not alter the excellence of his disposition; and as he increased in age and strength, his address and agility became unparalleled. Yet all his motions were gentle, and his actions circumspect; he was persevering in his wants and wishes, but never violent in the attempt to enforce them. When after much solicitation his requests were refused, he would go off in a gambol, and find entertainment in some new object. He had no idea of property, but took every thing that pleased him, even such articles as had previously caused him punishment, and he committed his thefts with dexterity and silence. He would open locks wherein the key had been left, untie knots, open the links of a chain, and search pockets with so much address that you did not feel his hand there, although conscious of the fact that he was thieving. The examination of pockets was his favourite occupation, doubtless from expecting to find food. He was not very affectionate, but when tranquil, and not engaged, he received caresses with pleasure. When tempted to play he signified his assent by many graceful motions; he would throw himself into all sorts of graceful attitudes, bite gently, press himself against you, and give out a gentle cry. He never made grimaces, but, on the contrary, his countenance was always calm, and frequently serious. He looked a perfect angel of a Monkey in his beautiful fur; his hair was of a brilliant golden green, the back and sides were rich brown, variegated with black, the outer part of the limbs and tail were slate-coloured grey, while the neck, chest, and underneath were pure shining white. He had ears and hands of a flesh-colour, and there was a black band stretched across the forehead, surmounted by a crescent-shaped stripe of grey.

Probably its French education may have had something to do with its politeness and gentleness, for one of these pretty creatures which was kept in the Zoological Gardens was one of the most ill-conditioned savage beasts ever seen--quite a diabolical Monkey. This Monkey does not appear to have the air sac in the neck which is common to the Guenons, as well as to the other Monkeys already noticed.

THE WHITE-NOSED MONKEY.[42]

The word “petaurista” is the Latin for “one that showeth tricks of activity, from a machine suspended,” according to old dictionaries, so this Monkey with a white nose has its abilities properly designated. Some call it the Vaulting Monkey, but in the Zoological Gardens its wonderful agility is shown by its scampering up the side, over the top, and down the opposite side of its cage in a kind of continuous somersault. Coming down on all-fours with a bang, it does the same thing over and over again to attract attention, and it seems as if it were moving in the inside of a wheel. The dab of white on the nose distinguishes it, and it comes from that paradise of Monkeys the Guinea Coast and the adjoining districts.

The only one of the second group to be mentioned is

THE TALAPOIN.[43]

This is a rather rare animal, and comes from the west coast of Africa, having been sent to Europe from the Gaboon. It is a pretty little creature (probably the smallest of these Monkeys), and is extremely gentle and intelligent. The skin is green, and the lower part of the body and the under part of the limbs are white. It has large ears, a black nose, and it has a kind of broad “brutus” on the forehead.

There are some very interesting points about this little thing, which, in nearly all its construction, is like the rest of the Cercopitheci, or Guenons, but it has a large brain, a short muzzle, a thick, long partition in its nose, and only three points, or cusps, instead of four, on its last lower hind grinders.

So far as is known, there are no differences between the habits of this little Monkey and the others from the west coast of Africa, and therefore its intelligence and deficiencies are sufficiently incomprehensible; but they exhibit a fact of great importance, of which a hint was given in the conclusion of the description of the Mona Monkey. In the Talapoin, the last lower grinder differs from that of all Monkeys by the absence of an important part of its usual structure, and in the Mona the great air sac, which is in communication with the windpipe in most other Monkeys, is absent. This fact may be stated as follows:--That in animals closely resembling others of their group or genus material deficiencies in construction suddenly appear. Corresponding to these deficiencies are the absence of all or a great part of tail in genera the majority of whose species have a tail, and the inference to be drawn is that, notwithstanding all the members or species of a genus are related by a common ancestry, the descendants of a well-marked stock may exhibit peculiarities of structure which are not produced by alterations in the habits or surroundings of the animals.

Such peculiar structures often relate to a remote ancestor, and it is remarkable that in the case of this Talapoin they give it a very faint resemblance to the American Monkeys.

Some naturalists separate the Talapoin from the genus, and classify it in one of its own under the title Myiopithecus.

The third group of the Guenons is represented by the well-known Monkey called

THE GREEN MONKEY.[44]

It has its classical name from two words which mean beauty and hair (κάλλος and θρίξ-τρίχος), and it must not be confounded with the Callitricha of Buffon, which is the same as the Grivet Monkey whose figure was drawn by the Egyptians.

The Green Monkeys live in Senegal, and extend as far south as the River Niger, for it was on the borders of that river that Adanson, a French naturalist, noticed their collecting in great troops. The little Monkeys were astonished at his appearance, and as they rushed off into the forest they broke off, either purposely or by accident, little branches from the tops of the trees, whose falling relieved the stillness of the woods. He indulged in some very cruel sport at their expense, for although they had been so silent and noiseless in their gambols, he shot one or two without the others being frightened. But when the greater part were more or less wounded, they began to get under cover from the shot, some to swing behind large branches, some coming to the ground, and the majority jumping from the top of one tree to another. Whilst this little scene (petite manège) was going on, this scientific brute still continued to fire on them, and finally he killed twenty-three in less than half an hour. This he did in the space of about one hundred and thirty feet, and yet not one screamed, although they often assembled together, knitting their brows and grinding their teeth, as if they intended to attack him. Broderip, in noticing this, writes, “I wish they had, with all my heart.”

They have in common with the other Guenons a fondness for particular parts of their forests, and one band will prevent another from entering its favourite haunts and this regard for companionship and locality is even seen when they are in captivity. Restless, irritable, and irascible they are ever at play, and fighting among themselves, but they will turn to expel a stranger.

It is said that this Monkey has obtained an American home, and that it was introduced with slaves into the Island of St. Kitts. Many escaped into the woods, and have increased considerably in number, so as often to pillage the plantations.

We introduce a kind here whose elegance of colour is great, principally to give a good notion of the general aspects of the Guenons, when not on all-fours, and also of the furtive look in the eyes of tamed kinds.

THE RED-BELLIED MONKEY.[45]

When living at the Zoological Gardens, in the Regent’s Park, this pretty Monkey, with a red chest and belly, and slim tail, was very timid, but it liked to be petted by the keeper, being somewhat distrustful of its more romping companions. It would take food out of his hand, and seemed pleased, and generally played with, his fingers, without attempting to bite. The canine teeth were very moderately grown.

This Monkey inhabits western Africa, and is at once known by the red belly and chest, the white beard and whiskers, and the black band across the forehead. It has, moreover, a yellow crown.

THE RED, OR PATAS MONKEY.[46]

The delicate red ground-colour of this Monkey readily distinguishes it from its more favoured allies. One in the Zoological Gardens is wonderfully human in the expression of its face and beautiful sad-looking large eyes. Its pale lips, eyelids, and cheeks, and the broadish pale forehead, with a slightly ridged nose, add to its appearance of suffering. It has a moustache, a few hairs on its nose, and whiskers, which are very cleanly kept in the proper whisker-line. The hair of the forehead forms a counter-curve, whose peak is just in the centre. Altogether it is a very pretty animal.

Bruce, the African traveller, when in Western Africa, took that trouble which is very rarely done by distinguished travellers in Africa, and observed Monkeys in a state of nature--the Red Monkey in particular. It is strange, considering the omnipresence of the Monkey element, that one may look over volume after volume of African travels, and very rarely meet with a note or word about them; but such is the case. So our obligation to Bruce is great. He says they descended in troops from the tops of the trees to the extremities of the branches, earnestly noticing, and apparently much amused by, the boats, as they passed along the river. They then began to take courage, and pelt the passengers with pieces of wood, this provoking a most unequal combat. When fired upon, they uttered the most frightful cries, and although many fell, the survivors seemed by no means willing to relinquish the contest; on the contrary, they redoubled their efforts. Some flung stones at their adversaries, while others collected something very nasty as a missile; all, in short, displayed a determination of spirit which must at all times render them formidable to opponents of weaker powers than themselves.

The last group of the Guenons are often called the Mangabeys, from a mistaken notion that they come from Madagascar. But there are no Monkeys in that great island, whose forests are peopled by Lemurs instead.

THE MANGABEY, OR WHITE-EYELID MONKEY.[47]

The general colour of this Monkey is a reddish-brown, which becomes decidedly red on the top of the head. There is a white band between the eyes, which is continued to each side of the back of the neck. A second kind has grey slaty-brown tints, without the white spot.

One thing strikes the observer at once, and that is the very affected way in which the Monkey sits, with its eyelids half closed; and as the upper ones are dead-white, they look almost like doll’s eyelids, and as if they did not belong to it.

They are extremely restless, and are fond of placing themselves in curious attitudes, and so full of antics are they that it has been erroneously imagined that they really have more joints and muscles than the most agile of their allies. They are fond of carrying their tails reversed, so as to be on a line parallel with the top of the back, and their common expression of disgust is to show their teeth by raising the upper lip. It is always droll, frolicsome, and good-natured. Sir William Jardine mentions a female in Mr. Wombwell’s Menagerie that was most lively, and Broderip says:--“She performed many of the attitudes of the most experienced harlequins, and was remarkably cleanly and careful not to soil her person. When feeding, she seldom put her head to the food or dish, but lifted and conveyed it to her mouth. She was very fond of bread, milk, and vegetables, and of carrots especially.” He gives a figure of her--no easy task, for she was never at rest for one moment, and her celerity was increased when she perceived she was noticed.

The Mangabeys are all African, and are peculiarised by having a fifth cusp, or point, to the last crushing tooth on each side of the lower jaw, as in Semnopithecus. Now, they have no other resemblance to Semnopithecus, and all their structural peculiarities are those of the Guenons. They have, however, the web between the fingers carried as far forward as the first joint, and the hair comes close to the knuckles and the beginning of the short thumb. In the foot the toe-thumb is large, and, as usual, widely separate from the toes, the second and third of which are united by a web, which reaches almost to the last joint near the tips, and the third, fourth, and fifth are united by smaller webs, Evidently the peculiar crushing teeth of the Mangabey are a relic of an ancestral character, and we must look in some lower tribes for a corresponding arrangement, and in this we are assisted by the nature of the face, for the muzzle is rather projecting. In fact, they somewhat, resemble the Macaques, or Inui, which will be considered next.

It is extremely interesting to find in Africa, and in the same parts of it, Monkeys living in the same forests, on the same kind of food, and exposed to the same climate and dangers, differing so wonderfully in their colour and disposition. The difference has been caused by something more than adaptation to ends. Again, it is curious to note the different arrangements of the dental structure in the group amongst animals eating the same food and stowing it away in pouches.[48]

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VII. THE DOG-SHAPED MONKEYS (continued). THE MACAQUES.[49]

Their Description and Anatomy, and its reference to that of the Semnopitheci and Guenons--THE COMMON MACAQUE--Its Character--Appropriateness of the Name--Occasionally an Albino--THE ROUND-FACED MACAQUE--Found in China--Ideas of the Chinese about them--THE TOQUE, OR BONNET MONKEY--THE BHUNDER--Described by Cuvier--Their Thieving Propensities--Hindoo Tales of their Sagacity--THE MOOR MONKEY--BELANGER’S MONKEY--THE PIG-TAILED MACAQUE--THE MAGOT--One of the Commonest Monkeys--Described by Galen--Early Notices of--Predatory Habits--Abundant at Gibraltar--Probably came over from Africa--Similarity to the Baboons--THE WANDEROO--Account of one in the Zoological Society’s Collection--Geographical range of the Macaques.

The next group of Monkeys differs much from the lively dwellers amongst the woods and trees, which have been described, and the kinds contained in it are evidently suited for running quickly on all-fours, and more on the ground than amongst the branches. They are not so much like the Dog in shape as are the Baboons, which will be described next, but still they are, as it were, between these and the Guenons in their habits and construction. They have longer muzzles than the Guenons, but not so long as the Baboons, and the nostrils open high up and obliquely. Their eyes are overshadowed by a prominent brow-ridge, which gives an air of cunning not seen in the playful Guenons, and also a look of fierceness and of mistrust; and, in fact, the old ones look anything but amiable. Their limbs are stout and compactly made, and they display great strength and width in the shoulders. The hind limbs are, however, longer than the front ones, and the hands and feet are well made, the latter being long and having a large heel. But what strikes the observer, when he sees drawings or stuffed specimens of the whole group before him, is the difference in the length of the tail in different species. Some have long tails, others have very small ones, and one in particular has not one at all. Those with tails used to be placed in one genus, and those without them in another; and the first were called Macaques (Macacus), the others being Inui[50] (Inuus). But the close agreement of the other parts of the body, notwithstanding the length or absence of the tail, coupled with the fact that it is not used in climbing or in balancing, determined naturalists to rely but little upon that member in this group, and to join those with tails and without tails in one genus, called Macacus.

Those with long tails, the Macacus cynomolgus, for instance, cause the group to resemble the Guenons; or, in other words, link and ally the two genera, it being difficult in the case of this Monkey to say to which one it should belong. On the other hand, the Barbary Ape, which managed to get to Gibraltar and live there in some numbers, and which has but the very stump of a tail, connects the whole group, or genus, with the Baboons without tails. Then there is one with a fine head of hair, and a long snout (Macacus Silenus), which lives in Malabar, and which has a longish tufted tail; and it links some Baboons with long tails to the group now being described.

The Macaques live in India, Tibet, North and South China, Japan, and southwards, and in some of the great islands of the Archipelago, Formosa, in Africa, in Barbary, but not south of the Atlas range, and in Europe, on the Rock of Gibraltar.

They all have cheek-pouches and callous pads, or callosities, on their seat, and thus resemble the Guenons; moreover, most of them have throat or laryngeal sacs, which open into the membrane above the vocal organ and below the base of the tongue (in the thyroid membrane).

On examining their jaws it will be noticed that there is the same number of teeth as in the other Monkeys already described, and that the upper eye or canine tooth on each side is very strong and long. Now, these teeth are not for killing or stopping living prey, although their possessors do not hesitate to snap up a good-sized Beetle, a small Lizard, or even a Frog, but they make, with the first false grinder of the lower jaw, a capital nut-opener. The canine, when the mouth is shut, fits just in front of this tooth, which is usually called the first pre-molar, and which is pressed back and made to slant in the jaw by the constant pressure and movements of the canine. The back of the canine is sharp, and comes in contact with the equally sharp edge of the slanted pre-molar below, so that when a nut comes between the two it is cut and crushed at the same time. The canine does not thus fit into a diastema, or vacant space, but is of great use to the animal. This arrangement is interesting, because it produces a distortion of the front back teeth of the lower jaw for a definite and useful purpose: it is noticed in some of the Guenons, and is particularly seen in mouths of the great Baboons, which will be noticed further on.

The other back teeth resemble somewhat those of the Guenons, but the last one of the lower jaw has five cusps, or prominences, on it.

All these Monkeys going very readily on all-fours have several interesting modifications of the structures observed in the climbing Monkeys, but of course their general construction is the same. They have not, however, the pouched stomachs of the Semnopithecus, and their nearest resemblance is to the African Guenons.

Like all the Monkeys which are lower in the animal scale than the great man-shaped Apes, the Macaques have narrow wrists, long linger bones, and a short and backwardly-placed thumb. There are nine bones in the wrist. The hip-and haunch-bones are long, and the first are hollowed out, and their direction refers to the method of progression on all-fours, and their general appearance is rather that noticed in the regular four-footed beast of prey, and they differ much in breadth relatively to those of man.

The length of the tail depends upon the number of the tail-pieces, or vertebra, and upon their size. In the Gibraltar Ape there are only three of these caudal vertebræ, but in the Bhunder there are fifteen and sometimes eighteen in the tail, which measures nine inches, whilst in the Pig-tailed Inuus there are seventeen. It appears that some of the long-tailed kinds have no more vertebræ than the others, but that the diminished length is due to their shortening. The long and middle-sized tailed kinds have chevron-or Y-shaped bones under the tail, and the nature of these has been explained already.

Living upon a great variety of food, and using their jaws with rapidity, these Monkeys are furnished with a curious modification of a muscle, which exists in man and the higher Apes. There is in these a muscle on each side of the throat, which draws the chin down, or, in other words, helps to open the mouth. It is called the two-bellied, or digastricus muscle, as it has two muscular masses--one attached to the lower jaw, and the other to the lump of bone behind the ear--and they are united by a thin tendon. This tendon is attached to the side of the bone at the base of the tongue, or os hyoides, and it passes through a loop of a muscle which passes from the ear-bone (styloid process) to the os hyoides. The muscle acts as follows:--When the mouth is to be opened after swallowing, the base of the tongue-bone is pulled down by a muscle which comes from the breast-bone to it, and then the front belly, or muscle of the digastricus, pulls from the base of the tongue against the lower jaw and drags it open. But when the muscle relaxes, and the jaw is shut preparatory to swallowing, the digastricus begins to assist in this operation. In swallowing, the base of the tongue is drawn upwards towards the roof of the mouth, and the back and front bellies of the muscle now under consideration drag on their fixed tendon, and straighten, so as to assist in this.

In the Macaques, this tendon is replaced by muscular bands, and greater vigour is given to the muscle, so that the jaw is pulled at more rapidly, and the tongue is elevated with energy.

As there is a greater power given in drawing up the tongue in the first stage of swallowing, there must be something extra to pull it down again in the second stage, for in this the back of the throat, the gullet, and the back of the tongue are all brought from above to a lower level. This is arranged by a modification of a muscle, which in man and the Chimpanzee, for instance, stretches from the top of the bladebone, across the lower part of the neck, to the bone at the base of the tongue (the omo-hyoid muscle). It has also two bellies in man, or, in other words, the muscular fibres are attached to the bladebone and to the hyoid bone, and there is an intermediate tendon; moreover, this passes through a pulley, so that the obliquely-placed muscle in the lower part of the neck acts straight upon the tongue, and pulls it down in a right line. In the Macaques, this muscle has no central tendon, and the muscular fibres pass all the distance from the bladebone to the os hyoides at the base of the tongue.

In addition to these modifications where muscle replaces tendon, there are those of several other muscles which act on the tongue, the larynx, and on the upper and lower parts of the windpipe, their conjoined action being to approximate all these parts. These muscles, which are separate in man, are united in one in the Macaques.

The head of these Monkeys, hanging as it does when they go on all-fours, requires extra support, and one of the muscles of the back, which from its square shape is called the rhomb-shaped muscle, is especially attached to the occiput, and helps to hold the head up. Another assistant in the movement on all-fours is a muscle which pulls the bladebone forwards when the animal is walking. It springs from the outer processes of the upper bones of the neck (transverse process of the upper cervical vertebræ), and is attached to the spine of the bladebone. This muscle is seen in the great beasts of prey also, and in the Semnopitheci and Guenons. A similar “wild-beast” peculiarity exists in the arrangement of the muscles of the hand; the muscle which extends the little finger and opens it is divided, and has greater connections with the fourth finger than in man. The long muscle which extends the thumb, and the short one which draws it from the fingers, are not separate in the Macaques, but the muscle has two tendons, and thus foreshadows the arrangement which in man and the higher Apes gives such perfection of movement to the thumb.

The Macaques have their ears rather pointed at the tip, and not rounded, and the general shape of their bodies is not lanky like that of the active long-legged Guenons and Semnopitheci. They are less gracefully made, and the dog-like appearance, so palpable in the Baboon, is recognised in their fore parts and head. Moreover, the colours are not usually pretty and variegated, as in many of the kinds of the genera already described, but are dun and sad in tint. Their tail varies according to the species in length, and a rough method of classification may be made which divides them into those with long, those with moderate, and those with short and almost no tails.

The large Common Macaque (M. cynomolgus), and the Round-faced, or Formosan Monkeys (M. cyclopis), and the Bonnet Monkey, represent the long-tailed kinds; the Bhunder (M. rhesus), has a tail of middle length; and the short-tailed group about to be mentioned consists of the Moor, the Pig-tailed, and the Belanger Monkey. The tail-less one includes the Magot. Finally, the Silenus Ape, usually miscalled Wanderoo, is so baboonish that, although it has a long tail, it cannot be placed with the Common Macaque in the beginning of the chapter, but must come at the end, so as to lead to the true Dog-headed Apes, or Baboons, which will be described further on.

If the remarks in page 106 about the fourth division of the Cercopitheci are now read carefully, it will be understood how these Monkeys, the Macaques and the Baboons, form a group of creatures which is only really separable into kinds or species, but that the genera are very artificial.

THE COMMON MACAQUE.[51]

The so-called Common Macaque, or Macacus cynomolgus, represents the long-tailed section of the genus, and grows to be a powerful animal amongst the other small Monkeys, over a very wide extent of country. It lives in Java, Sumatra, Borneo, Celebes, Batchian, in the islands from Lombok to Timor, and in the Philippines. It is a quiet and tolerably amiable Monkey when young, but with years, it becomes a wild, savage, and very brutal creature. Even in menageries it is often nasty in its habits, and savage. So bad a character has it, that when the proper name to give it came under the criticism of Fred. Cuvier, he sought out those of all the wickedest and naughtiest men in Lempriere’s Classical Dictionary, and finally considering that Irus, who disturbed the domestic peace of the sublimely virtuous, industrious, and persevering Penelope, was the worst of the worst, he fixed his name to that of this Monkey. But Buffon had, not from his bad qualities, or from any resemblance to the Monkey in disposition, his name attached to it long before; so it was called Buffon’s Monkey, as well as the Hare-lipped, although one fails to recognise this condition in its face. To complicate matters, an English zoologist, who knew little of Penelope’s feelings or trials, mistook the word Irus, and wrote it Iris! The word Cynomolgus may be translated “a pilfering or a lewd dog,” so that it and Irus are very appropriate.

The huge shoulders of the full-grown adult strike one, and its general clumsiness also. There is a large body, and the limbs are short for it, although the tail is long. The fur is rather short, and is of an olive-brown, spotted with black on the head and body, but it is grey on the limbs, and blackish on the tail. There is no “hare-lip” in this Monkey, but there is no hollow going from the nose to the upper lip as in man, and only a raised line.

This Monkey is sometimes found perfectly white, with red eyes, or as an albino; its skin is then of a pinkish colour, and the long tail looks very curious, as there is not much hair on it. A male and female of this kind are very interesting in the Zoological Gardens; they dislike the glare of day, and are very lively and full of fun and malice. The female has the whiskers and all the beauty of hair, and the male is a quieter animal, but a great grimace-maker. He tries to look fierce when the sun is on his face, and looks most odd. He draws back his ears, so that they cling to the back of his head, and wobbles his eyes about in a most laughable manner. The female does not like to be disturbed in her nap after breakfast, and comes out to see what is the matter. If anything noisy is going by, she scolds violently, and if she can catch hold of her drinking-tin, she will bang it about in a very amusing manner. Sitting in her wooden house, she bangs the outside with the tin, and then dropping it, rushes out and fixes her teeth on the wooden branches in the cage. The deficiency of colouring matter in the iris of the eye allows so much light to enter that organ, that there is the same scowling or shading eye look in them as there is in human albinos.

The second example of a long-tailed genus is

THE ROUND-FACED MACAQUE,[52] THE FORMOSAN MONKEY.

These are very interesting Monkeys, with a human-like expression, which suffer considerably at the hands of the Chinese, for should one be captured, its tail is immediately cut off, the Chinese having a fanciful idea that the tail of the Monkey is a caricature of the Tartar pendant into which they twist their long back hair. They therefore cut off the tail of every Macaque that comes into their possession.

They live in Formosa about the declivities and caverns which overhang the sea, miles away from any woods. It seems to be quite a rock-loving animal, seeking the shelter of the caves during the greater part of the day, and assembling in parties in the twilight and feeding on berries, the tender shoots of plants and grasshoppers, &c. In the summer it collects in bands during the night, and commits depredations among the fields of sugar-cane and fruit-trees. They nurse their solitary young ones up in the hills, and betray much uneasiness--no wonder--at the approach of man. They seem, however, to possess abundance of self conceit.

The Chinese have some very curious notions about them, and about some other Monkeys which are either identical or are found with them. They say that in the Yaoukwang hills are animals whose exterior appearance is like a Mehow with human face and Hogs’ bristles. During the summer they dwell in caves. They are called Hwatso, their cry is like cut water (noise of a mill), and when seen they are “ominous of a conscription” (i.e., of being forced to work). The Yew are like the Mehow and of a deep black colour; their tails are long like the others, but have no tufts. When they scent the dew ascending to form rain, they then suspend themselves by means of their tails to fill their nostrils with it, or else by both feet. The Gaou are said to inhabit the Lunseen hills, to be like an Ape with long arms, and to be good for killing. When their arms are cut through at the thick part, they can be made into flutes rounder than reeds. They are of the Monkey tribe, having long legs, and are good whistlers, and given to drag things about. The Yew are like the common Monkey, with green body and dark paws; they have black whiskers and black paws. They are naturally very fond of their whiskers, and doat on their species, living and dying together; on which account, if one can be got at, a hundred will be killed. Men shoot them with poisoned arrows; the shot animal’s companions draw out the arrow in order to wound themselves and die with one another.

These round-faced Monkeys have, of course, callosities on the buttocks, and these at certain times become gorged with blood, so as to swell out and become greatly distended, being horrible to look at.

They resemble the common Rhesus Monkey, about to be described, in many points, and indeed the skulls present so many things in common that no satisfactory distinction can be made; but the bones of the pelvis, which are much curved, and the shorter limb-bones of the round-faced species, are distinctive.

The fur of this Monkey is thick and woolly, and is very slate-coloured. The tail is about a foot in length, is hairy, and has a black line along the top. The head is round, the ears are small and feathered, and the face is flat. The forehead is naked and the cheeks are dark-whiskered, and there is a strong ruffle-like beard.

THE BONNET MONKEY.[53]

This is a very common Monkey in menageries and zoological gardens, and is always an object of attention, as it is amusing, very active, full of tricks and malice, and a great stower away of nuts in its cheek-pouches. It is known amongst the other Macaques by its cap of long hair radiating from the crown, on which it rests flat, but it is often parted down the middle. It has a long tail, rather a long muzzle, and prominent ridges over the eyes, and the forehead is flat. Its fur is olive-grey, and sometimes greenish or brown in tint, whilst the under surface is ashy-white. It has large and often flesh-coloured ears.

The young often have their head of hair parted down the middle, and, as their face and forehead are pale and not hairy, they have a very human appearance.

Very good-tempered when pleased, this Macaque enjoys a bit of mischief, and if it can steal anything from a visitor it is intensely delighted. But when food is offered and then not given, the Bonnet Monkey shows that it considers itself wronged, and scolds and screams in a great rage. It has much capacity for accepting and stowing away food, and there are often fierce fights if one intrudes upon the store of another. Very fond of hugging and nursing others, it is equally delighted in searching the bodies of its companions for insect life; but, although thus amiable, it resents unkindness very decidedly and at once.

Another common Macaque is called the Toque, but it only differs from the Bonnet in the parting of its hair.

THE BHUNDER, OR RHESUS MONKEY.[54]

This is a Monkey with a medium-sized tail, which is well known to those Europeans who have lived in out-of-the-way places in British India.

It is a strong-looking creature when full grown, and has powerful shoulders and limbs; the tail is about one-third of the length of the body, which often attains the length of from one foot-and a-half to two feet. The prevailing colour of the hair is olive-green and brown on the back, and the naked face is of a pale flesh-colour. There is no ruff of hair around the neck, and the ears are very visible, and there is a singular looseness or folding of the skin of the throat and belly. The callosities are often very red, and the insides of the legs also.

F. Cuvier observed the early days of one born in France, and noticed that immediately after birth it clung fast to its mother’s stomach, holding on with its fore hands stuck in her fur, and that it did not quit the breast, even during its sleep, for fifteen days. In the first day of its existence it appeared to distinguish things, and to look at them carefully, and the mother was devoted to it, giving it the tenderest attention of a constant and patient nurse. Not a movement or noise on its part escaped her, and her maternal solicitude was quite astonishing. The weight of the little thing did not interfere with her moving about, and all her exertions were managed with a view of not incommoding her young charge. She never shook it, or struck it accidentally against the edges and corners of her house. At the end of a fortnight the little one began to detach itself, and from the beginning of its moving by itself it showed a great amount of vigour, power, and ability to run and jump, which human children of a year or two might well envy. It held on to the wires of its cage and crawled up and down at will, but the careful mother never took her eyes off it, and followed it wherever it went, and even held out her hands to prevent it tumbling when it became too venturesome. Indeed, she admonished the little one by a gentle touch that it had been away long enough, and must come in. At other times it walked on all-fours over the straw, and often let itself drop down from the top of its cage on to the soft bottom, so as to accustom itself to fall on all-fours; then it would jump up the net-work and lay hold and scramble with great precision. After a while, the mother began to teach the young one not to be so troublesome to her, and to manage without her, but still she took care of it, following it if it was doing anything out of the way and in danger. With strength the agility of the creature increased, and its jumps and bounds were wonderful, and it never miscalculated its distance, or made a false step. After six weeks a more substantial nourishment than milk was required, and then a very curious spectacle was seen. This attentive mother would not let the little one have a bit of all the nice things, but drove it away and scolded it, although it was hungry. The old one took possession of the fruit and bread which were for both, and boxed the little one’s ears if it came close and hid up the food. She had hardly any more milk, and the young one was in daily want of food, but the old one did not appear to act from cruelty or gluttony, but wished to train up the youth, like the young Cyrus, to feats of daring and of skill. As hunger pressed, the young one became bold, and stole by art what he could not get otherwise. If he was very adroit, all the better, and he was commended by being allowed to carry off his own. He used to get to the further end of the cage, and turning his back on his mother would begin to gormandise. But even the maternal solicitude was not wanting, for she often used to go up to him and snatch a nice titbit out of his jaws. Perhaps this was a mistaken idea, for after a while a larger quantity of food was placed in the cage, and the little one had its quantity without any stealing.

The Bhunders are sacred in some parts of India, and are left very much to themselves; so they assemble in troops, and steal from among the natives in a very troublesome manner.

As they are very bold, their habits in the wild state are often observable, their slyness and thieving propensities being most amusing. They gather on the roofs of the low houses in the bazaars, and look out for occasion to steal. One was observed on a roof fronting a sweetmeat shop, and feigning to be asleep; but every now and then he looked wistfully at the luscious prizes below. It was, however, of no use, for sitting beside his stores was the seller, smoking his pipe, and looking decidedly wide awake. This went on for half an hour, when the Monkey got up, yawned, and stretched himself artfully, as if he had only just awoke. He began to play with his tail, and even made believe he was tying knots in it, as if he were wholly intent on it; but ever and anon he gave a sharp, sly look over his shoulder at the sweetmeats, but only to see the seller still there smoking away to his heart’s content, and ruminating concerning prospective customers and profits. The Monkey still had patience, and amused himself with his fleas, and had a good and general scratch; and he was rewarded, for suddenly the confectioner arose from his seat, took his pipe, and turned towards the back door for a fresh supply of tobacco. Instantly the Bhunder was on all-fours, and the sweetmeats were before him and behind their owner. In another moment he had jumped off the roof, cleared the street, and was on the board which was crowded with sugar-plums. He of course began to cram as many as possible into his cheek-pouches. But, alas for the spoiler, there were other pilferers there in the shape of hornets; his sudden descent frightened them, and they flew off, but returned on the instant, and to take vengeance. Before he could regain his roof they were all round him, stinging here and stinging there with great zeal and passion. His efforts at getting away from them were frantic, and he scrambled over the rotten roof, displacing the tiles, which came down with a crash; and at last, when he jumped clear of the enraged insects, he came on to a sharp, thorny bush, from which he could not extricate himself. He had to spit all the nice things out of his pouches, and, screaming with pain--for the thorns were more like fish-hooks than anything else--he sat a picture of misery, barking hoarsely now and then. The fall of the tiles brought out a crowd of natives, and they were speedily joined by the confectioner, full of revenge. But the culprit was a Monkey, and, therefore, an object of veneration; so a couple of Hindoos managed to rescue him, and he limped off as well as he could to a neighbouring grove.

The Hindoos tell many tales of the sagacity of this Monkey; and there is one which may be taken as a specimen, although it has been filtered through Mahomedan pages. A fakir had a Monkey which he had brought up from birth. He loved it, and travelled here and there, taking much care of it. In return the Monkey behaved like a watch-dog, and was most faithful and watchful. It amused the fakir by its endless tricks and mimicry. One day, the fakir placed his carpet in a square before the palace of some great shah who had nothing to do, and who looked at the fakir and the Monkey with great delight. The fakir had made a pie; there were some pieces of birds’ flesh in it, and it was placed on some lighted charcoal to be cooked. The Monkey sat watching, and the fakir thought he would like a stroll until dinner was ready, knowing that his faithful follower would look after the cooking. But the shah saw more than the fakir; for, after a while, the smell of the meat came strongly into the Monkey’s nostrils, and he began to feel hungry. Soon he was very hungry, and then he just lifted up the edge of the crust, and could not refrain from taking a tiny bit--just a little leg. This was so nice that he took a little more, and finally eat all. The crust was left on the grass, and then the sinner suddenly remembered his master. The shah was in ecstasies, wondering what would come next. After due consideration, the Monkey remembered that he usually sat on a very beautiful flesh-coloured “callosity,” and he had noticed that several Crows and other birds had been hovering about whilst he consumed his master’s dinner. He instantly feigned to be dead, and hiding his head, gave the birds the benefit of the scarlet appearance. One came down instantly with a swoop; but the Monkey was too quick, and the bird was seized and strangled in an instant. Rapidly plucking off the feathers, the Monkey pulled it to pieces, and put it in the pie, and sat looking happy, contented, and extremely virtuous. The shah was struck with this wonderful display of instinct, and the story goes on to say that he promoted the fakir to an important post under government.

There is a Macaque which, instead of having the quiet brown and olive tints of the others, with short tails, is of a dark oily black colour. It is called

THE MOOR MONKEY.[55]

It lives in Borneo, and is about eighteen inches in length. It has a flat nose, with nostrils opening well outwards, and the eyes are hazel, the pupils being very large. The length of the bones of the tail is not enough to carry it beyond the callosities, which are of a roseate hue.

When young the skull is short, and there is no great projection over the eye; but with age the upper part of the face becomes very square, and the eyebrow ridges grow. Now; this gloomy-looking Monkey offers some points of interest, for there is another one, called the Booted Monkey (Macacus ocreatus), which cannot be distinguished from it when both are young. With age, however, the last-named one becomes oily black, has a longer tail, and the hair on the head has a bushier appearance. But can these distinctions be accepted as showing a difference in the species? Probably not; and it will be for the student to consider that Monkeys may have races and varieties which really pertain but to one species, and yet are separated by the naturalist.

There are other short-tailed species of the Macaques, of which one, called the Handsome Monkey (Macacus speciosus), has a red face. It is from Japan, and is educated by the showmen there to do tricks like the Rhesus Monkey of India.

Another kind is interesting, because it gives a hint how a tail may be gradually lost from being in the way.

BELANGER’S MONKEY.[56]

This is found in Cochin-China, Singapore, Burmah, and up in the hills of Upper Burmah, Cochin, and Assam.

Its tail is more than a stump, yet is not half a middle-sized one, as it does not come lower than the haunch-bones. The Monkey is much troubled with it. Sometimes it is stuck up erect, but usually it is curled inwards, as if the animal were ashamed of it, and had done something wrong. When this is the case, the end quarter of it is doubled up, and thus the space between the haunch-bones is filled, as it were. The animal then sits on its tail and on its callosities, which are on the haunch-bones, and the consequence is that the surface of the tail, thus compressed, becomes hard and callous. Here, writes Dr. Anderson, the Indian zoologist, is an instance of a Monkey sitting on its tail; and the habit appears to be peculiar to the species. The tail is very degenerated, so far as its bones are concerned, and the curvature of it appears to be caused by the animal desiring to curve it out of the way of pressure. Perhaps, according to Lord Monboddo, this is the first symptom of the loss of tail. With regard to the other peculiarities of this species, it may be mentioned that it has pretty eyes, and is exceedingly easily domesticated.

THE PIG-TAILED MACAQUE.[57]--THE BRUH.

This is a short, thin-tailed kind, comes from Sumatra, Borneo, and the Malay Peninsula, and is called by the natives the Bruh--climber of the palms. It is said to be used by the natives to collect cocoa-nuts, and is domesticated by them, being often found in their houses.

THE MAGOT.[58] THE BARBARY APE. THE TAIL-LESS APE.

This is a very celebrated kind, and it has made its mark in the history of science and of the world. It was dissected by Galen; it took part in the great siege of Gibraltar, and is one of the most popular of the companions of the organ-grinder. Moreover, as will be noticed further on, it is an animal which may be classified with the Cynocephali, or true Baboons, to be described in the next chapter, without doing much violence to science.

It is called Magot by the French, and it is the Pithecus of that great old physician, Galen, who, when he could not learn anatomy by dissecting the human body, which was not allowed, investigated that of the Tail-less Ape. Born at Pergamo, about the year A.D. 131, Galen studied literature and then anatomy when young; and visiting Alexandria, was greatly delighted with being permitted to examine a human skeleton there, and subsequently to dissect a robber, who had remained without burial. Seeing that anatomy and physiology were the very foundations of medical practice, and noticing the resemblances of man and the Ape, he set to work and wrote largely on anatomy, but made the Ape his model. He was far before his age, and, therefore, abominable in the eyes of the antiquated practitioners; so his career as a physician in Rome was short. Nevertheless, his voluminous works lasted longer than his critics, and influenced the rise of medical science and the comfort and lives of mankind for many centuries. His anatomy was wrong, because it was that of the Ape and not of man; but, nevertheless, so strongly were the medical anatomists--who never dissected but only read--impressed with the correctness of his so-called human anatomy, that when Vesalius did dissect men and describe them, he was pooh-poohed by the faculty as of no authority whatever. Just as Oxford opposed the learning of Greek, so the first physician of Henry IV. of France decided against human anatomy and Vesalius; but Greek and Vesalius triumphed after a while.

Nevertheless, humanity for many centuries was under a deep obligation to the Magot, inasmuch as surgery, as applied to man, was founded upon observations on the construction of the Ape.

Strabo knew that North Africa was peopled by the Tail-less Ape, or Pithecus; and he asserts that Posidonius, on going from Cadiz to Italy by sea, stopped in Lybia (the present Barbary), and saw large numbers of these Apes in the forests, which came down close to the water side.

The Magot is about the size of a middle-sized Dog, and measures from two to two and a half feet in length. The upper parts of the body and outsides of the limbs are of a light yellowish-brown colour, which is deeper on the head and round the cheeks; the under parts are whitish; and the face, ears, and other naked and hairless parts are flesh-coloured. The bald face, rather pale in tint, is long and wrinkled, and it is this which gives an old look to them, even when they are young. It is a robust animal when full grown, and has then deeply-set eyes, which are rather close together, and a projecting brow. The erect posture can be maintained for a short time, but it is not natural to it; on the contrary, it moves on all-fours quickly, jumps and climbs with great agility, scampering over broken ground or getting into the trees equally well. It squats on its haunches, and often sleeps with the head hanging down over the chest. Always alert and full of mischief, they assemble in troops, especially on the flanks of the Atlas range, place their scouts on trees, like so many Crows, and despoil the fruit plantations and gardens. In this they resemble the Baboons, whose marauding expeditions will be noticed further on.

This is the Monkey which is tolerably common on the Rock of Gibraltar; and they were there before the sea wore away the land and formed the Strait. They are essentially Rock Apes, and like trees near rocks, and, therefore, they are not found in desert tracts or in deep woods. Formerly the Rock of Gibraltar was no doubt continuous with the range of hills far over the sea to the south, and there the Magot plundered (or, rather, took what Nature let him take; for man had not then come to disturb him) the fruit of Kabylia, Algiers, and Morocco. People have invented many methods by which the Magots could come from Barbary on to the Rock of Gibraltar: some believe in a subterranean passage, which is said still to enable the occasional visits of African relations to their European kindred; and others, more practically inclined, believe that the Apes came over on board ship by stealth. Certain it is that the strong current through the Straits prevents anything from drifting from one side of them to the other. Some years since, some caves were opened and carefully examined in the Rock of Gibraltar, and bones were found of kinds of Hyænas, of Rhinoceros, and of Elephants, all comparable with those still living on the African Continent. Now, such animals could not at the present time live on the Rock, but they might have done so when it was part of a country extending right away to Africa. Their bones were washed into valleys amongst the hills, and then they fell into deep fissures and became preserved; and this could only have taken place when there was much water in the neighbourhood; and for there to be much water, the whole aspect of the country would have to be changed--to be extended far and wide where the sea now is.

No Monkey bones were found; but this is to be explained by noticing what occurs in India. There a dead Monkey is rarer than a dead Donkey in England--so rare, indeed, that the natives believe that their fellow Monkeys bury them; but the fact is there are plenty of beasts of prey ready to devour them, sick or dead, and therefore Monkey bones are very seldom found.

It is probable, then, that the Magot, and many African and some European animals, lived in the south of Spain when the Peninsula was united to North Africa. It has lasted longer than its great fellow-beasts, and still lingers there, but in greatly diminishing numbers.

What they live upon on the Rock is rather a mystery, for there are no groves of fruit-trees or plantations to be robbed, but only roots and bulbs to be dug up. Perhaps it is this spare diet which restricts their numbers and causes them to be very watchful. It is notorious that they are rarely approached, but sometimes they are trapped, or seduced into mischief, which ends in captivity. All kinds of stories are told at Gibraltar, and by most of those who have resided there, of the acts and deeds of the Rock Monkeys. Once upon a time, a strong party of these Apes, headed by an old male, who had grown grey in audacity and mischief, were always stealing and ruining the belongings of a certain regiment in garrison, and at last the annoyance became so great that it was determined to catch the ringleader, if possible. The men caught him, and shaved his head and face, and then they let him go. Away he scampered to his party, who had been watching for him at a distance, eager, no doubt, to place himself at their head again and lead them to vengeance. He was received with a volley of sticks and stones by his own troops, who treated him so roughly that he had to fly for his life. In this deplorable and degraded state, he was fain to sneak back to his old enemies, the ----th regiment, and presented himself at their quarters, so woe-begone and with such a rueful visage, “all shaven and shorn,” that there was no resisting the appeal. Broderip says: “He was admitted, and remained with his new allies, whom he served with fidelity, upon the principle that secures the faith of other allies--because he couldn’t help it.” It is said in one of the stories of the great siege that the Monkeys saved Gibraltar as the Geese saved Rome, for the Spaniards attempted to surprise the place a few weeks before the regular siege commenced; but, fortunately for the British, the attacking party had to pass where a number of these Magots had collected. Both parties were startled at the noise, but the British were put on their guard, and the old fort was thoroughly ready for the enemy. General Elliot, afterwards Lord Heathfield, never suffered the Apes to be molested or taken; but one had been made prisoner previously to the time of his being made Governor of Gibraltar, and was kept chained in his yard. Another Monkey, who had apparently fallen from a rock, had been picked up by one of the General’s aides-de-camp and conducted to the same place. Nothing could be more striking than the meeting of the pair. It was evidently the recognition of two old friends or relatives. After contemplating each other for a few seconds, they rushed into each other’s arms, then pushed each other a little back, as if to make sure of the recognition, and, after a second mutual examination, again clasped each other to their breasts.

The Magots, like all other Monkeys, are playful, affectionate, and gentle, when young, to those whom they know, but they become cross and vicious with age, and are generally greatly brutalised by their masters--in fact, brought to the same level.

The absence of a tail makes the Magot look very baboonish, and this appearance is not lost when the animal is dissected, and the skull is examined. This is much less animal-looking than that of any one of the Baboons, for it has not so much face, and the front of it is not so disfigured with ridges and swellings. But the forehead is “villainous low,” and there are well-marked ridges over the orbits, the skull not rising behind them; and, as a matter of course, the brain case is flat, the brain itself being low in height. The palate is narrow and long, the face is flat, and the chin recedes. There is a capital set of teeth, and the last grinders of the lower jaw (third molars) have their fifth cusp, or tubercle, subdivided by two side-slits. In this, and in the tail, which is excessively rudimentary, and only has three bones, or vertebræ, the Magot departs from the usual form of the Macaques as a genus. The sutures of the face and skull--that is to say, the joinings between the bones--are soon obliterated in this animal; and it appears to have the nose (nasal) bones joined in one at an early age, thus resembling the Baboon and the carnivorous animals.

So many tricks are taught these clever Magots, and with such ease, that one would expect to find a fairly-developed brain; but an examination of one shows that it is hollowed beneath and narrow in front, whilst it is broad behind, and extending well back, and covering the cerebellum.

Their special muscular structures resemble those of the other Inui, and even their stump of a tail has the muscles which are common to those of all Monkeys, but which in this instance are useless.

It will be noticed in the engraving of the wrist-bones that one projects behind. This is the pea-shaped, or pisiform bone. It is small and at the side of the wrist in man, but here it acts like it front heel bone. The length of the three middle long bones of the palm, or metacarpals, is nearly equal; and this is an interesting point, as it prevents the third finger from being so much the longest, and gives the hand more or less a foot-like appearance.

THE WANDEROO.[59]

Wanderoo is the English way of spelling and pronouncing the word by which the native inhabitants of Ceylon call all Monkeys; and it is certainly misapplied in this instance, for the animal is not truly one of the Cingalese Monkeys, although it has been brought into the island. It lives in the neighbouring part of the south of the peninsula of Hindostan, especially in the country bordering the Malabar coast. It is a small animal, probably never reaching two feet in length, and the tail may be that of ten or twelve inches; but, from the stories which have been told and invented, one would conceive the Wanderoo to be a giant in wickedness as well as in physical power.

They have slim bodies, which are covered with deep black hair, and there is a longish tail of the same colour, ended by a little tuft. Their head looks very large, because of a mane, or ruff, and beard which surrounds the face, sticking out in a wild kind of way. This mass of long hair is either grey or white in colour, and adds to the sly look of the broad face, soft dull eyes, and rather long black muzzle.

A former dignitary of the Roman Catholic Church, the Procurator-General of the Barefooted Carmelites, Father Vincent Maria, writes that there are four kinds of Monkeys on the coast of Malabar, and then proceeds to describe the Wanderoo. He says that this is perfectly black, is clothed with glossy hair, and has a white beard round his head and chin, measuring rather more than a palm in length. To him all the other Monkeys show such deep respect, that in his presence they are submissive, and humble themselves as if they were aware of his pre-eminence. The princes and great lords esteem him highly, for that he is, above every other, gifted with gravity, capacity, and a wise appearance. Easily is he taught to perform a variety of ceremonies and courtesies, and all these in so serious and perfect a style as to make it a great wonder that they should so exactly be enacted by an irrational animal. This excellent character does not appear to have been peculiar to all the Wanderoos; for some have been described as savage and disgusting in the extreme, and as most vicious and malignant in captivity. But it is probable that the gentleness of disposition which has been so noticed by those who have kept them kindly was spoiled by teasing and maltreatment.

The showmen call this Monkey the “Child of the Sun;” and Broderip suggests that it is the ruff, with the head peeping through, which gives a faint likeness to old Sol over a public-house door; and that probably the dark colour of the animal impressed his exhibitors with the great heat he enjoyed in his Indian home.

Certainly they like the sun; and we have often seen a pair at the Zoological Gardens sunning themselves after their breakfast with great delight. They sit on a bar, close to the wires of the cage, and climb four or five feet up it, clinging close to their iron prison, just in the range of a sunbeam. They spread out their black hands, and enjoy the glare, becoming sleepy and disinclined to pay any attention to nuts, cakes, and other temptations. They peer down at you with their expressive eyes, and give an occasional twist to their tail, to pull it close to them, probably after a long experience of the habits of the other Monkeys in the cage, who certainly have not an overwhelming respect for them. It is curious to see them climbing slowly, and without the great exertion and bounds of some of the Guenons, and to notice their marching, head and back downwards, whilst they crawl along the under-side of the roof of their house, looking down every now and then in a cunning sort of manner.

Broderip used to watch one, when the Zoological Society’s collection was in its infancy in Bruton Street, and a right merry fellow was he. “He would run up his pole and throw himself over the cross-bar, so as to swing backwards and forwards as he hung suspended by the chain which held the leathern strap that girt his loins. The expression of his countenance was peculiarly innocent; but he was sly--very sly--and not to be approached with impunity by those who valued their head-gear. He would sit demurely on his cross perch, pretending to look another way, or to examine a nut-shell for some remnant of kernel, till a proper victim came within his reach; when down the pole he rushed, and up he was again in the twinkling of an eye, leaving the bare-headed surprised one, minus his hat, at least, which he had the satisfaction of seeing undergoing a variety of transformations, under the plastic hands of the grinning monster, not at all calculated to improve a shape which the taste of a Moore [the hat maker of the day], perhaps, had designed and executed. It was whispered--horrescimus referentes--that he once scalped a bishop, who ventured too near, notwithstanding the caution given to his lordship by another dignitary of the Church, and that it was some time before he could be made to give up, with much grinning and chattering, the well-powdered wig which he had profanely transferred from that sacred poll to his own. The lords spiritual of the present day, with one or two exceptions, are safe from such sacrilege. Now it would be nearly as difficult to take a wig off a bishop as it once was to take the breeches off a Highlandman. But another Wanderoo, confined in the open part of the gardens in the Regent’s Park, was of a different temperament. There was a melancholy about this creature. He would climb his pole, ascend to his elevated house-top, and there sit for half an hour together, gazing wistfully at the distant portion of the park--which presented, when viewed from his position, the appearance of a thick wood--every now and then looking down, as if he was contrasting the smooth, sharp-pointed pole, to which they fettered him, with the rugged, ‘living columns of the evergreen palaces’ of his fathers.” The Wanderoo often loses some of his tail in captivity; but it should be, when full-grown, terminated by a tuft, which, in the imagination of some, has been considered quite lion-like. Having large cheek-pouches, this Monkey, very un-lion-like in disposition, feeds rather rapidly, and stores away much for future occasion. In doing this it either carries the food to the mouth with the hand or places its mouth to the object. It moves on all-fours, and has callosities; and these, and the tail, give it a very baboon-like appearance. Nothing is known of their habits in their wild state.

The geographical range of the Inui, or Macaques, is very great, and some of the twenty-seven species of which the genus is composed have very restricted wandering grounds, whilst others are found over a wide extent of country. As a group, they are found from North Africa to China, and species are met with at Gibraltar and Eastern Tibet, and within range of the everlasting snow. They are found in the peninsulas of India, and in the great islands as far south-west as Timor and in the Philippines, but not in Celebes or in New Guinea.

Spotted a typo or a problem in this chapter? Tell us

VIII. THE DOG-SHAPED MONKEYS (continued). THE BABOONS.[60]

Early Accounts of the Baboon--Origin of the Name--Held as Sacred by the Egyptians--Used as the Emblem of Thoth--Brought into Europe in the Middle Ages--Their Literature--General Description of the Family--Structural Peculiarities--Brain--Skull--Geographical Distribution--THE SACRED BABOON--Found in great numbers in Abyssinia--Formidable Antagonists--Size and Colour of the Male and Female--Anecdotes--Propensity for Spirituous Liquors and Thieving--THE GELADA BABOON--THE PIG-TAILED BABOON--Usually called Chacma--Description of it--Its Ferocity in Captivity--Le Vaillant’s Monkey--THE SPHINX BABOON--Its Dexterity of Aim--THE ANUBIS BABOON--Its Locality and Food--Method of Running--THE COMMON BABOON--Often Found in Captivity--Anecdotes--Anatomical Peculiarities.

John Leo, an ancient traveller, who wrote about his perils and adventures in “his nine bookes,” says, regarding his experience of Africa, that “of Apes there are divers and sundry kinds, those which have tayles being called in the African tongue Manne, and those which have none Babuini. They are found in the woods of Mauritania, and upon the mountains of Bugia and Constantia. They live upon grasse, and come and goe in great companies to feed in the cornfields; and one of their companie, which standeth centinelle or keepeth watch and ward upon the borders, when he espyeth the husbandmen comming he cryeth out, and giveth, as it were, an alarm to his fellows, who every one of them flee immediately into the next woods, and betake themselves to the trees. The shee Apes carry their whelpes upon their shoulders, and will leape with them in that sort from one tree to another.”

This author, although he probably mixed up other Monkeys with his Babuini, gives the key to the derivation of the word baboon, which has been the subject of keen controversy amongst those who are curious in such matters. Papio is the common term applied to these animals by the writers of the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries: it is “dog latin” for Babbo, which in modern language would be rendered Papa, and Babuino is the diminutive of Babbo. Doubtless these terms bear some important and hidden reference to the opinions of the African races upon their relationship and connection with the clever Apes, and upon their appreciation of the paternal habits of the patriarchs of the great companies who not only stand “centinelle,” but instil good discipline into the younger members of the family.

But long before John Leo lived, these Babuini had been noticed and critically observed by Greek and Roman naturalists, and had received, on account of their especial character--their dog-shaped muzzle and head--the name Cynocephali, or Dog-headed Apes. The word comes from the Greek, and was frequently applied to Dog-headed people as well as Apes, and it is very applicable, for the whole aspect of the head, and especially of the prolonged snout, cut short at the end in the Ape, greatly resembles that of some Dogs. Earlier still, the ancient Egyptians engraved its figure in stone, made metal images of it, drew it on papyrus, and even made mummies of their dead bodies. Hermopolis was especially the city devoted to the worship of the Dog-headed, for in those early days such was their grandeur in Egyptian eyes, and such the folly of mankind. Symbolism was carried to an excess, its foundations being as mysterious as meaningless, and it therefore came to pass that the Dog-headed were mixed up with literature and astronomy.

That admirable investigator and popular exponent of the sculptures and hieroglyphics of the ancient Egyptians, Sir Gardner Wilkinson, writes that “The Cynocephalus Ape, which was particularly sacred to Thoth, held a conspicuous place among the sacred animals of Egypt, being worshipped as the type of the god of letters, and of the moon, which was one of the characters of Thoth. It was even introduced into the sculptures as the god himself, with ‘Thoth, Lord of Letters,’ and other legends inscribed over it; and in astronomical subjects two Cynocephali are frequently represented standing in a boat before the sun, in an attitude of prayer, as emblems of the moon. Their presence in a similar boat with a Pig probably refers to them as types of the divinity, in whose honour that animal was sacrificed; the moon and Bacchus, according to Herodotus, being the sole deities to whom it was lawful to immolate Swine, and that only at the full moon. But the presence of Cynocephali was not confined to Thoth or the moon. On two sides of the pedestals of the obelisks of Luxor four Cynocephali stand in the same attitude, as if in adoration of the deity to whom those monuments were dedicated; a balustrade over the centre doorway of the temple of Amun at Medinet-Aboo is ornamented with the figures of these animals; and a row of them forms the cornice of the exterior of the great temple dedicated to Ra at Aboomubel. Sometimes a Cynocephalus placed on a throne as a god holds a sacred Ibis in its hand; and in the judgment-scenes of the dead it frequently occurs seated on the summit of the balance as the emblem of Thoth, who had an important office on that occasion, and registered the account of the actions of the deceased. The place where this animal was particularly sacred was Hermopolis, the city of Thoth. Thebes and the other towns also treated it with the respect due to the representative of the Egyptian Hermes, and in the necropolis of the capital of Upper Egypt, a particular spot was set apart as the cemetery of the sacred Apes. Mummies of the Cynocephalus were put up in a sitting posture, which is usually that given to the animals in the sculptures when representing the god Thoth; and its head forms one of the covers of the four sepulchral vases deposited in the tombs of the dead. It was then the type of the god Hopi, one of the four genii of Amenti, who was always figured with the head of a Cynocephalus. Many of this species of Ape were tamed and kept by the Egyptians, and the paintings show that they were even housed for useful purposes.”

Elsewhere the same author informs us that “the Cynocephalus is synonymous with the hieroglyphic of letters; and we even find it holding the titles and fulfilling the office of Thoth, which shows that it was not only the emblem, but also the representative of the deity.” “Thoth in one of his characters corresponded to the moon, and in the other to Mercury. In the former he was the beneficent property of that luminary, the regulator and supervisor of time, who presided over the fate of man and the events of his life; in the latter the god of letters and the patron of learning, and its way of communication between gods and men. It was through him that all mental gifts were imparted to man. He was, in short, a deification of the abstract idea of the intellect, or a personification of the intellect of the deity.”

The judgment-scenes found in the tombs and on the papyri show that the good actions of the deceased are placed in a row on one side of the balance, and the figure or emblem of Truth on the other. Anubis, the director of the weight, proceeds to ascertain the claims for admission into the region of Amenti, and if on being weighed he is found wanting, he is rejected, and Osiris, the judge of the dead, inclining his sceptre in token of condemnation, pronounces judgment upon him, and condemns his soul to return to earth, under the form of a Pig, or some other unclean animal. Placed in a boat, it is removed under the charge of two Monkeys, who open out to it a new term of life. The Monkeys drawn have tails, and are evidently Dog-headed.

Baboons were brought from Africa, and sold in all directions in Europe by the merchants of the Middle Ages, and it was thought to be out of the fashion not to have an Ape in one’s establishment. They were dressed up, and sometimes admitted to feasts, and taught manly kinds of tricks and good behaviour. Broderip hunted up an odd story, which refers to an Ape in the sixteenth century, which did a vast deal of mischief very unintentionally. In the play of Much Ado About Nothing, as readers of Shakspere will doubtless remember, Benedick is said by the lively-spirited Beatrice to have stated that she got her wit out of the Hundred Merry Tales--“And that I had my good wit out of the ‘Hundred Merry Tales.’” What this book was could hardly be decided; some thought that it was Boccaccio’s “Decamerone,” but they appear to have been printed by John Restell, the title being, “A C. Mery Talys.” The wit is well enough in these “tayles” to make Benedick wince under Beatrice’s imputation. One story is headed, “Of the Welcheman that delyvered the letter to the Ape.” The first lines are wanting, but there is enough to make it appear that a master sends his Welsh retainer with a letter to the chief justice, in order to obtain a favour for a criminal who had been in the writer’s service, with directions to the said Welshman to return with an answer. “This Welcheman came to the chefe justyce place, and at the gate saw an Ape syttynge there in a cote made for hym, as they use to apparell Apes for disporte. This Welcheman dyd of his cappe, and made cortsye to the Ape, and said, ‘My master recommendeth him to the lord your father, and sendyth him here a letter.’ This Ape toke this letter and opened it and lokyd upon the man, makynge many mockes and noyes as the propertyes of Apes is to do. This Welcheman because he understood him not, came agayne to his master, accordynge to his commandes, and told hym he delyvered the letter unto the lorde chief justice sonne, who was at the gate in a furred cote. Anone hys master asked him what answer he brought. The man sayd he gave him an answer, but it was French or Laten, for lie understode him not. ‘But syr,’ quote he, ‘ye nede not to fere, for I saw in his countenance so muche that I warrant you he wyll do your errand to my lorde his father.’ This gentleman in truste thereof made not any further suite, for lacke thereof his servaunt that had done the felonye within a month after was rayned at the king’s benche and corte, and afterwards hanged.” In the punishment for matricide the criminal was placed in a case with an Ape, Cock, and Serpent, and either buried alive or drowned and the dislike of the first two creatures was much enlarged upon in some ancient authors.

In the Merchant of Venice there is allusion made to the fanciful notion of Monkey--and probably it was Ape--keeping. Shylock has lost his daughter, and Tubal comes to give him news of her fast living, and of Antonio.

Tubal. One of them showed me a ring, that he had of your daughter for a Monkey.

Shylock. Out upon her! Thou torturest me, Tubal: it was my turquoise; I had it of Leah, when I was a bachelor: I would not have given it for a wilderness of Monkeys.

In a “New History of Ethiopia, being a full and accurate description of the Kingdom of Abyssinia, vulgarly” (writes Broderip), “though erroneously, called the Empire of Prester John, by the learned Job Ludolphus” (1682), there is a grand engraving of Apes, with this superscription:--

“1. Scrambling about the mountains.

2. Remoeving great huge stones to come at the wormes.

3. Sitting upon Ant-hills and devouring the little creatures.

4. Throwing sand or dust in the eyes of wild beastes that came to sett upon them.”

The following is illustrated by the above:--

“Of Apes there are infinite flocks up and down in the mountains thereabout, a thousand and more together: there they leave no stone unturned. If they meet with one that two or three cannot lift, they call for more, and all for the sake of the wormes that lye under: a sort of dyet which they relish exceedingly. They are very greedy after Emmets; so that having found an Emmet-hill, they presently surround it, and laying their fore paws with the hollow downward upon the Ant-heap, as fast as the Emmets creep into their trecherous palmes, they lick them off with great comfort into their stomachs; and there they will lye til there is not an Emmet left. They are also pernicious to fruit and apples, and will destroy whole fields and gardens unless they be carefully looked after. For they are very cunning, and will never venture in till the return of their spies, which they send always before, and who, giving information that all things are safe, in they rush with their whole body, and make a quick dispatch. Therefore they go very quiet and silent to their prey, and if their young ones chance make a noise, they chastise them with their fists, but if they find the coast clear, then every one has a different noise to express his joy. Nor could there he any way to hinder them from further multiplying, but that they fall sometimes into the ruder hands of the wild beasts, which they have no other way to avoid but by a timely flight, or creeping into the clefts of the rocks. If they find no safety in flight, they make a virtue of necessity, stand their ground, and filling their paws full of dust or sand, fling it full in the eyes of their assailant, and take to their heels again.”

It will be seen that there is much truth and a great deal of romance in this narrative.

The Baboons have had their name given by the Dutch to a plant. The “Babianer,” which botanists have turned into the genus Babiana, is a common group of plants which is found in South Africa.

One kind, the Babiana sulphurea, greatly resembles in its flower the common Gladiolus of our gardens, but it has round, stiff-coated seeds. The sword-shaped leaves arise from an underground bulb-like root, which buds near its point so as to rise in the ground to the surface, and the flowers are very handsome. The plants flourish in the soil of the great plains of the Cape of Good Hope, where they are exposed for two or three months to rain, but where afterwards and for the rest of the year the earth becomes so dry that hardly a vestige of vegetation remains. The Baboons, when they roamed over these plains formerly, used to dig up the root and eat it voraciously.

The Baboons are more brute-like than the rest of the Monkeys in appearance, and therefore have not that singular resemblance to man which many of the others possess either generally or in their faces. Their dog-shaped head, a long muzzle, and a curious fulness on each side of the long nose, distinguish them at once from any other Quadrumana. With one or two exceptions the nostrils are quite at the end of the muzzle, and are separated by a narrow piece of gristle; they rather project beyond the nostril, and can be placed close to the ground as the Baboon runs along to follow or track a scent. Their eyes are close together, and are deeply set, their ears are moderately large, and their neck is rather long, and as their common position is squatting on the hinder quarters like a Dog, the long muzzle is kept straight out, or occasionally is hung down over the chest. They have a short body, which seems compressed at the sides, and the shoulders are wide, the chest being capacious. As they run very much like Dogs, the hind-quarters are strong, and the hinder limbs longer than the front ones, and have a decided heel and strong muscles. They trot and canter, but rarely bound or jump over the ground, and they scramble and climb up rocks with the aid of the power of prehension, which is great even in the hinder extremities, the thumb being strong but short. When standing on all-fours, the shoulders are high, and the body slopes slightly to the tail, which is stuck high up, and some have short and others long tails.

They have the cheek-pouches, and the curious callosities on their stern, which sometimes are very large and vividly coloured; and their hair is many-coloured, being long or short according to the species. The tail is curved upwards close to its origin, and then it droops downwards when the Baboon is quiet in mind and body; but when excited, it sticks out and is flourished about with great vigour. Sometimes ended with a tuft, in some kinds it is not, and in one or two of the great Dog-headed there is no tail, or only a miserable rudiment of it. In spite of their brutal looks--for the faces of some are swollen out, or rather the side of the nose, and coloured and ridged in a marvellously ugly manner--they are very interesting, on account of their habits, cleverness, sociability amongst themselves, and their courage. Usually very amiable and full of fun when young, they afford much amusement when kept well and treated with kindness. They like to be petted, and will present their backs to be scratched, and may be taught to beg for food, to hold things, and to play endless tricks. This “jolly” disposition is seen amongst the wild youngsters, who are ever on the watch for an occurrence of mischief and practical joking, the sedate behaviour of their elders affording opportunities for endless mummeries and impudences. What can be more tempting to a young and light-hearted Cynocephalus than to disturb the solemn thoughts of the patriarch of the troop? There sits the elder of elders on his haunches, his tail outspread behind, the long nose slightly stuck up, and the fine long mane, lion-like, encircling the throat and covering the shoulders. Perched upon a block of stone, higher than the rest, he is an object of reverential awe to the elders of the band. But often enough some restless little Ape, after squatting on a stone and mimicking the Nestor of the tribe, forgets himself, and after much dodging here and there, and running to and fro, ventures to pull that sacred tail as only Monkeys pull. All the rage of Thoth is, however, slumbering in that quiet old male. His cares and watchings have triumphed over any gaiety he ever had. Making no allowances for the follies of youth, he pounces without wavering on the offender. Squeals, squeaks, and howls follow the cuffs, pinches, and bites, and the little wretch makes off to the bosom of his mother, who snarls, grins, and shows her teeth, using language awful in monkeydom, and mutterings not loud but deep. The mothers in the immediate neighbourhood sympathise and proclaim their indignation with low grunts and much pantomime suggestive of reprisals, but they all know better than to do anything of the sort, as they have experienced the weight of the paternal arm themselves so often.

With age, any amiability of disposition is replaced by ferocity and greedy brutality, and is particularly increased in captivity, as the temper is usually severely tried by the tricks and teasings of the visitors.

The Cynocephali, although they are placed after the different genera already described in the scheme of classification, have some very singular structural resemblances with the higher Apes and with man, besides those which render them more like the quadrupeds, such as the flesh-eaters or Carnivora. Several of these will be noticed in describing some of the kinds of Baboons; but it may be stated here that the bend in the back observed in the Chimpanzee and other Apes, which resembles that of a very young child more than that of a man, does not exist in these Dog-headed Apes. Their bones bend in and the upper part of the back bends out, as in man, so that there is a more or less graceful double curve. This is evident when any Baboon places himself up against the wires of his cage to be scratched--a treat under all circumstances. Moreover, the Baboon has another human resemblance, which is also observable in the Orangs, but not in the Troglodytes. In man, if a line be drawn down the spine and another drawn down the sacrum bone (that which unites the haunch-bones together behind), they will not meet and form a straight line, but will cut each other, so as to produce a decided angle. This is slightly seen in the Orangs, but it is very evident indeed in the Baboons. On the contrary, there is no angle formed in the Gorilla and Chimpanzee. Again, in man, the sacrum bone is curved, the hollow of the bend looking forwards. This is the case in the Baboon and also in the Siamang; but the curvature is much less in the great Apes or Troglodytes; furthermore, this sacrum bone is relatively very broad in the Baboon.

Now, these are not simply anatomical curiosities, and they are really of some interest to the youngest naturalist who cares to try and puzzle out what these things really mean. Either they have a meaning or they have not. If they are freaks of Nature or the results of chance, then there is nothing more to be said; or if they are deeply connected with the method of life or the habits of the creatures, they may be said to have been given for a purpose. But the notions about chance and freaks belong to a bygone age, for Nature works neither by accident nor by impulses, but by law. So there must be some meaning in these things, and the key to their comprehension is the gradual change of form and of structure which has been undergone in the long ages during which one animal has become altered so as to depart greatly from the parent stock, and to assume what is called a new specific shape--to become a new kind. And in the new kind there are relics of the old form--pieces of bone here and there; muscles, tendons, or useless teeth, and such things, which are, as it were, part of the coat-of-arms to enable the genealogist to trace the history of the family.

In the Baboons there is a curious condition of the first bone of the neck (the atlas, or first vertebra, on which the head rests). It is a massive ring of bone, down the centre of which the great nerve (spinal cord) of the spine passes, and it becomes stouter with age, and the central hole is all the smaller. It has a small spinous process, to which there is a muscular attachment, which tends to keep up the heavy skull and long nose. A good short back-bone, not over pliant, is necessary to the Baboon, and a provision is made in order to produce this; for the bodies of the vertebræ are found to be larger and longer as they are further down the spine. This is what occurs in man and in the Gibbons, but it is only slightly noticed in the higher Apes--the Troglodytes and Orangs. The Baboon may be said to have sometimes only eighteen back and loin vertebræ, and twelve or thirteen are rib-bearing, and the spines of these bones are strong and often expanded or flattened at their ends; moreover, the last spines project forwards and the others backwards. All this arrangement is especially ape-and animal-like, and refers to the strengthening of the muscles used in moving on all-fours. There is of course a tail to be considered, and in the shortest there are from five to eight bones, or modified vertebræ, and whether short or long, the muscles of the tail are all to be met with at its root.

Such clever animals ought to have well-formed brains, and yet not so elaborately constructed as those of the Anthropomorpha, whose movements are more varied, and who can walk erect for a longer or shorter time. It is found that the brain of the Baboon, although less complicated, or rather less perfectly formed, than that of the Chimpanzee and Orang, is singularly like those of the Guenons and Macaques in the surface markings and convolutions, and, in fact, the brains of these animals agree in all essential points. The principal convolutions and fissures which are noticed in the Troglodytes exist, but the external perpendicular fissure is strongly marked, and all the little brain is covered by the cerebrum, or brain proper.

There is no mistaking a Baboon’s skull; it is large for a Monkey, and the face part is always one-half of the whole, the brain-case being cast in the shade, as it were, by the huge upper and lower jaws, and their fine armament of teeth. In old males the length of face is much greater than one-half, and the front of the upper jaw is stuck out considerably. But in all there is a swelling of the upper jaw-bone, just in front of the orbit and on each side of the nose-bones, which sometimes is vast and at others turned into a ridge. It is this which is covered by the curious tints and colours in some. The jaws seem pinched in, just above the upper grinding teeth, and then comes this swelling. Strong teeth exist in the upper jaw, and the canine, or eye teeth, more than an inch in length, are long, slender, curved, and sharp. The front or incisor teeth are large, the middle ones being the largest, and the three grinders have sharp projections on them which are not readily worn. As the eyes are close together, the orbits are only separated by the forehead (frontal) bone and the united nose-bones (nasals). These cavities are, moreover, broad, and look a little outwards, and they open into the strange swollen muzzle. The ridges over the orbits are great, and the opening for the nose is triangular; the forehead recedes, and is rounded, and the side-bones of the brain-case are bulged out. Underneath, the skull looks very long; the hinder nostril opening is small, and the palate is arched. As the animal eats a variety of food, and fights often, his lower jaw is very strong. It is large and wide behind, and compressed in front. The chin is deep, and so is the side of the jaw close to it, but further back it is less so; and the joint process (condyle) is wide and very flat usually. The lower canines are not as large as the upper, and they fit into a space (diastema) in front of the great canines of the upper jaw. The back teeth are remarkable for their size, the last in the lower jaw having five points, and the others four. The tooth (pre-molar) next to the canine is pushed backwards and sharpened in a curious manner by the action of the great upper canine, which comes down in front of it when the jaw is closed.

The Baboons are found widely dispersed about Africa, and those which have been best observed live on the west coast, on the east in Abyssinia, and extending downwards to the neighbourhood of the Cape of Good Hope. Frequenting mountains and woody places, and rather avoiding forest land, they come within range of the great Carnivora of the plains and uplands, and suffer in consequence, the Leopard especially making the young its prey whenever it has an opportunity. They extend into Arabia. A little black one, differing in its kind from its African congeners, lives in the Island of Celebes, in the Philippines, and in the Islet of Batchian, close by. Some kinds differ but slightly from one another, and those of one part of the African continent appear to resemble those of other portions in their several shapes and habits, and yet to have different-coloured hair, hence much confusion has arisen regarding the races of the species of the genus. This has been increased by the fact that the females differ much from the males, and hence more species have been formed by naturalists than is correct. Probably there are twelve species.

The possession of a good tail constitutes a very good characteristic, and by the presence or comparative absence of this member the group or genus may be divided into two.

In the division which possess a tail, which is never very long, often rather short, and sometimes tufted and sometimes not, are the most numerous species, and such kinds as the Hamadryas, Gelada, Sphinx, and Pig-tailed Baboons are well known. In the nearly tail-less division are the great Mandrill, the Drill, and the Black Baboon.

THE SACRED BABOON, THE THOTH OF THE EGYPTIANS.[61]

During the march against Magdala and Theodore, in the Abyssinian campaign, this great Dog-faced Baboon was frequently seen, and its habits were noticed by Blanford, the naturalist to the Expedition. Like most, if not all, of its fellow Baboons, this interesting creature prefers sandy ground to the dense forest land. They very rarely are seen on trees, they avoid woods, and keep mainly in the open country, preferring rocky precipices. This was the kind of country principally traversed by the army, and hence the Baboons afforded some amusement during the hot marches, and they were met with everywhere from the plains around Annesley Bay, where the disembarkation took place, to the top of the Dalanta plateau, although most abundantly in the tropical and sub-tropical portions of the district. On rising one morning after a march of some sixteen miles from Annesley Bay, Blanford saw a singular spectacle. A large troop of Baboons, at least two hundred in number, were hunting for any corn dropped upon the ground the place where the horses had been picketed. They were the first of the great Dog-faced Apes which had been seen, although they became familiar enough afterwards. There was no mistaking them, for their likeness to the engravings of the Sacred Ape (Thoth) on Egyptian monuments was exact. The uncouth-looking male is, indeed, a formidable animal, something between a Lion and a French Poodle in appearance, with long hair over his shoulders and fore-parts. Their impudence was excessive, and the day before they had come into the commissariat enclosure and commenced pilfering the grain.

Subsequently the Baboons were found up the country, at an elevation of 9,000 feet, and wherever there were passes leading from the coast to the table-lands, there they abounded, and it was evident that they kept close to the sides of the rocky ravines. The herds vary in number; some cannot include less than 250 to 300 Monkeys of all ages. The old males are always most conspicuous animals, all the fore-part of their body being covered with long hair. They usually take the lead when the troop is moving, some of them also bringing up the rear; others placing themselves on high rocks or bushes, and keeping a sharp look-out after enemies. A troop collected on a rocky crag presents a most singular appearance. Sometimes large numbers were seen assembled round springs in the evening near Senafé, where the want of water was great. On such occasions, every jutting rock and every little stone more prominent than the rest was occupied by a patriarch of the herd, who sat with the gravity and watchfulness befitting his grizzled hair, waiting patiently till the last of his human rivals had slaked his thirst and that of his cattle. Around, the females were mainly occupied in taking care of the young, the smaller Monkeys amusing themselves by gambolling around. Occasionally, if a young Monkey became too noisy, or interfered with the repose of one of his seniors, he “caught it” in most unmistakable style, and was dismissed with many cuffs, a wiser if not a better Monkey.

The Baboon feeds on wild fruits, berries, and seeds, and often on the buds of trees and on young shoots. On the highlands, troops of them were frequently seen in the fields, engaged in searching for a small tuber, the root of the edible Cyperus, which was also the resource of the half-starved men and women in the country of the Tigré.

These Baboons climb heavily and clumsily, but run, or rather gallop, well and steadily, without bounding movements, and hence their locomotion differs much from that of many kinds of Monkeys. Doubtless they unite in such large troops in order to defend themselves against their enemies, and the old males are combative and grave. From their size and great power of jaw they are most formidable antagonists, and their boldness in resenting injury is said to be in proportion to their power. There are many stories of their attacking men. During the time before the Abyssinian Expedition sailed, a well-known German and two companions were surrounded by a large herd, which barred their path, and were so threatening that he was obliged to shoot one in self-defence. Even then, although they fell back, they did not run away. On the other hand, there were no instances known of these Baboons attacking any other of the expeditionary force. Near the passes the Baboons became very wary, for they were often fired at.

The Hamadryas Baboons are not entirely vegetable feeders, although they usually live on fruits and grain, or on buds and succulent stems; yet it appears to be true that they like insects now and then, and share them as delicacies. The old ones march about gravely, turning over stone after stone, but if there is a large stone which one cannot turn over, as many as can stand round it turn it with a will together, capsize it, and share the booty. The old males, who act as sentinels, are extremely watchful, and cry out with a peculiar note when there is danger; but this is only done when absolutely requisite, for silence is insisted on during their expeditions. Thus, when they plunder a garden in Abyssinia, they follow their leader without noise, and if an impudent young one makes a noise he receives a slap from the others to teach him silence and obedience. But as soon as they are aware that there is no danger, all show their joy by making as much noise as possible.

The Hamadryas grows to the size of a large Pointer Dog, and measures rather more than four feet when standing erect, and about two feet and a half when sitting. The face is very long, naked, and of a dirty flesh-colour, with a ring of lighter tint round the eyes. The nostrils, as in the Dog, are separated by a slight furrow, and they open quite at the end of the snout, which projects slightly beyond the lip. The head, neck, shoulders, and all the fore parts of the body as far as the loins are covered with long shaggy hair; that on the hips, thighs, and legs is short, and contrasted with the former has the appearance of having been clipped, so that the whole animal bears some resemblance to a French Poodle. The hair of the back of the head and neck is upwards of a foot in length, and forms a long mane which falls back over the shoulders, and at a distance looks something like a full short cloak. The whiskers are broad and directed downwards so as to conceal the ears; their colour, as well as that of the fore part of the body, head, and mane, is a mixture of light grey and dusky colour, each hair being marked with numerous delicate rings of the colours. The short hair of the thighs and extremities is of a uniform colour of dusky brown, and a dark brown line passes down the middle of the back. The feet are rusty brown, and the hands are jet black. The tail is about one-half of the length of the body, and is carried drooping as in other Baboons; it is terminated by a tuft of long brown hair.

The female equals the male in point of size, but has no mane, being uniformly covered with short hair of deep olive-brown slightly mixed with green. She has a bearish look, and it is evident that the colours of both sexes are admirably adapted to hide them when crawling amongst rocks, or hiding away in holes and under ledges of stone. All have a wild, grunting bark, almost approaching a roar; and they possess laryngeal pouches or air sacs, which pass amongst the muscles of the neck and reach even into the armpits. The pouch communicates by one opening into the membrane above the larynx, and between its cartilage and the so called hyoid bone at the base of the tongue, and they, therefore, resemble those of the Semnopitheci.

Mansfield Parkyns gives some very interesting and explicit statements about the intelligence and discipline of the Baboons. He says--“The Monkeys, especially the Cynocephali, who are astonishingly clever fellows, have their chiefs, whom they obey implicitly, and a regular system of tactics in war, pillaging expeditions, robbing cornfields, &c. These Monkey forays are managed with the utmost regularity and precaution. A tribe coming down to feed from their village on the mountain (usually a cleft in the face of some cliff) brings with it all its members, male and female, old and young. Some--the elders of the tribe distinguishable by the quantity of mane which covers their shoulders, like a Lion’s--take the lead, peering cautiously over each precipice before they descend, and climbing to the top of every rock which may afford a better view of the road before them. Others have their posts as scouts on the flanks or rear, and all fulfil their duties with the utmost vigilance, calling out at times, apparently to keep order among the motley pack, which forms the main body, or to give notice of the approach of any real or imagined danger. Their tones of voice on these occasions are so distinctly raised, that a person much accustomed to watch their movements will at length fancy--and perhaps with some truth--that he can understand their signals.

“The main body is composed of females, inexperienced males, and the young of the tribe. Those of the females who have small children carry them on their back. Unlike the dignified march of the leaders, the rabble go along in a most disorderly manner, trotting on and chattering without taking the least heed of anything, apparently confiding in the vigilance of their scouts. Here a few of the youth linger behind to pick the berries off some tree, but not for long, for the rear-guard coming up forces them to regain their places. Then a matron pauses for a moment to suckle her offspring, and not to lose time dresses its hair whilst it is taking its meal. Another younger lady, probably excited by jealousy, or by some sneering look or word, pulls an ugly mouth at her neighbour, and then, uttering a shrill squeal highly expressive of rage, vindictively snatches at her rival’s leg or tail with her hand, and gives her, perhaps, a sharp bite in the hind-quarters. This provokes a retort, and a most unladylike quarrel ensues, till a loud bark of command from one of the chiefs calls them to order. A single cry of alarm makes them all halt and remain on the qui vive till another bark in a different tone reassures them, and they then proceed on their march.

“Arrived at the cornfields, the scouts take their position on the eminences all around, while the remainder of the tribe collect provision, with the utmost expedition, filling their cheek-pouches as full as they can hold, and then tucking the seeds of corn under their armpits. Now, unless there be a partition of the collected spoil, how do the scouts feed?, for I have watched them several times, and never observed them quit for a moment their post of duty till it was time for the tribe to return, or till some indication of danger induced them to take to flight. They show also the same sagacity in searching for water, discovering at once the places where it is most readily found in the sand, and then digging for it with their hands just as men would, relieving one another in the work, if the quantity of sand to be removed be considerable. Their dwellings are usually chosen in clefts of rocks, and are always placed so high that they are inaccessible to most other animals, and sufficiently sheltered from the rain. The Leopard is their worst enemy, for being nearly as good a climber as they, he sometimes attacks them, and then there is a tremendous uproar. I remember one night, when outlying on the frontier, being disturbed in my sleep by the most awful noises I ever heard, at least they appeared as such, exaggerated by my dreams. I started up thinking it was an attack of negroes, but soon recognised the voices of my Baboon friends from the mountain above. On my return home I related the fact to the natives, who told me that a Leopard was probably the cause of all this panic. I am not aware how he succeeds amongst them. The people say that he sometimes manages to steal a young one and make off, but that he seldom ventures to attack a full-grown Ape. He would doubtless find such an one an awkward customer; for the Ape’s great strength and activity, and the powerful canine teeth with which he is furnished, would render him a formidable enemy, were he, from desperation, forced to stand and defend his life. It is most fortunate that their courage is only sufficiently great to induce them to act on the defensive. This indeed they only do against a man when driven to it by fear, otherwise they generally prefer prudence to valour. Had their combativeness been proportioned to their physical powers, coming as they do in hordes of two or three hundred, it would have been impossible for the natives to go out of the village, except in parties, armed, and instead of little boys, regiments of armed men would be required to guard the cornfields.”

A traveller, relating his experience with these Baboons, writes as follows:--

“The first band I saw was just resting after their morning ramble. I had seen the tall forms of the males from some distance, but had taken them for rocks, as these Apes resemble them when they are still. I was first undeceived by a repeated cry, which sounded like a shrill cry of ‘Kuck.’ All heads were turned our way, and only the young ones went on with their games. Probably the whole herd would have stopped in this attitude had not we had two Dogs with us that we kept to keep off hyænas from the house. These answered the cries of the Apes, and we immediately noticed a commotion among the herd. They started off and disappeared. Much to our astonishment, at the next bend of the road, we saw the whole band in a long row clinging on to what seemed a perpendicular rock. This was too much for us, and we determined to have a shot at them. Unfortunately, the rock was too high for a sure aim. Anyhow, we hoped to disturb them. The first shot had a wonderful effect. A tremendous barking and shrieking was the answer. Then the whole band moved on, climbing over the rocks in a most astonishing manner, where it seemed almost impossible to find a footing. We fired about six shots, though it was impossible to be sure of hitting. It was most comical to see the whole band, at every shot, cling on to the rock as if they thought the earth would give way under them. The next turn we found them no longer on high ground, but in a valley where they were going through to get to the hills beyond. Part of the band had crossed, but most were still behind. Our Dogs stopped a minute, and then rushed in among the herd. So soon as they got there all the old males rushed from the rocks, formed a circle round the Dogs, and opened their mouths, beat the earth, and looked so fierce, that the Dogs retreated with all speed. Of course, we encouraged them to return to the fight, and in the meanwhile the Apes had got across the valley. As the Dogs returned to the attack there were only a few in the valley, and among them a young one of about six months old. As it saw the Dogs it cried out, and fled to the rocks, where our Dogs brought it to bay, and we flattered ourselves that we should catch it. Proudly and quietly, without troubling himself about us, came an old male back from the other side, walked fearlessly between the Dogs, climbed slowly up the rock, and took off the young one in triumph.”

Their regard for their mutual safety is even seen in captivity, for it has happened that when a Baboon, who has been extremely savage, unbearable, and mischievous in his comportment, had to be chained to be punished, the others tried to protect him.

“Many kinds of Monkeys,” writes Mr. Darwin, “have a strong taste for tea, coffee, and spirituous liquors; they will also, as I have myself seen, smoke tobacco with pleasure.” The wild Baboons of North-eastern Africa are often caught in consequence of their naughty propensity and love of a “drop.” The natives fill some vessels with strong beer, and put them out in places where they look particularly tempting to the thirsty. The Baboons, ever on the watch for something new and to steal, see the pitchers and pans, and of course just taste their contents. Feeling happy and enlivened, after a while they try again, and finally drink long and deeply, becoming in a short time decidedly tipsy, and unable to take care of themselves. Drunk and incapable would be the accusation against them by native police. Unfortunately for the tipplers their punishment is greater than the crime; and not only do they suffer all the miseries of headache, thirst, and bodily depression, but they lose their liberty also, and not for a time only. The natives, knowing that after a few hours they may expect to find the Baboons incapable of biting, fighting, or running away, go out and search for their victims, and bring them home and place them in durance vile. The next morning they awake to a sense of their condition. They hold their aching heads with both hands, and look with a most pitiable expression. Brehm saw some of them in this plight, and gives a most amusing description of their grimaces and laughable conduct. A little wine or beer was offered to some who had recovered from their debauch, but they would have nothing to do with it at the time. They turned away with disgust, but they relished the juice of some lemons which was given to them.

The Baboons, symbolical of learning, the observers of the moon in eclipse, and the companions of the bacchanalian jug, once so esteemed, worshipped, and mummified by the ancient Egyptians, have terribly fallen in social and religious reputation on the very spot of their former glories. In modern Egypt they may be seen in some houses where, at a fanciful kind of banquet, they have to sit around the room holding torches. And right bad torch-bearers they are, for every now and then some Baboon becomes aggressive, or some guest has a nice piece on his plate for which the Baboon longs, and the consequences are a departure of the light from its perpendicular, a slight motion amongst the row of curious candelabra, and oftentimes such disorder as can only be remedied by the timely application of the discipline of the stick. They are carried about to do tricks, and brutalised in every way.

Mansfield Parkyns asserts that the cleverness of these Baboons depends in some measure upon their power of reason, and not entirely on that instinct with which all animals are endowed, and which serves them only to procure the necessaries of life and to defend themselves against their enemies. In proof he relates an incident, of which he was an eye-witness. “At Khartûm, the capital of the provinces of Upper Nubia, I saw a man showing a large male and two females of this breed, who performed several clever tricks at his command. I entered into conversation with him as to their sagacity, the mode of teaching them, and various other topics relating to them. Speaking of his male Monkey, he said that he was the most dexterous thief imaginable, and that every time he was exhibited he stole dates and other provisions sufficient for his food for the day. In proof of this he begged me to watch him for a few minutes. I did so, and presently the keeper led him to a spot where a date-seller was sitting on the ground with his basket beside him. Here his master put him through his evolutions, and although I could perceive that the Monkey had an eye to the fruit, yet so completely did he disguise his intentions, that no careless observer would have noticed it. He did not at first appear to care about approaching the basket, but gradually brought himself nearer and nearer, till at last he got quite close to the owner. In the middle of one of his feats he suddenly started up from the ground on which he was lying stretched out like a corpse, and uttering a cry as if in pain or rage, fixed his eyes full on the face of the date-seller, and then, without moving the rest of his body, stole as many dates as he could hold in one of his hind hands. The date man, being stared out of countenance, and his attention diverted by this extraordinary movement, knew nothing about the theft till a bystander told him of it, and then he joined heartily in the laugh that was raised against him. The Monkey having very adroitly popped the fruit into his cheek-pouches, had moved off a few yards, when a boy in the crowd round him pulled him sharply by the tail. Conscience-stricken, he fancied that it had been done in revenge by the date-seller whom he had robbed; and so, passing close by the true offender and behind the legs of two or three others, he fell on the unfortunate fruiterer, and would no doubt have bitten him severely, but for the interference of his master, who came to the rescue.”

Although so clever, the Hamadryas is much more deficient in brain than the higher Apes, the Orang for instance. It is not so much developed in front, and the whole mass is not so high, but still it projects well over the little brain, or cerebellum. The convolutions are simpler, and although all the principal markings noticed even in man are present, still the smaller ones, and those which belong to structures which add to the superficial extent of the organ, are wanting. The ventricles and the posterior horn and its eminences are present, as is also that particularly monkey development, the fissure, which is called the external perpendicular.

Evidently the compressed form of the skull, which seems as if it had been pressed far above over the forehead, has much to do with the small bulk of the front of the brain, and this is also diminished by the projection of the orbits into the brain-case. The skull is certainly an ugly thing to look at, and is only surpassed by that of the full-grown Mandrill in want of elegance, of outline, and smooth configuration. The forehead and top of the skull are broad and flat, and the whole brain-case appears to slope off at the sides of the orbits, and then projects but little there, the broadest part of the skull being at the cheek-bone. The orbits are oblique, that is to say, they look forwards and outwards, and they are tolerably widely open. There is a great roundness and swelling of the upper jaw-bone from the cheek-bone to the long nasal bones, and the front jaw-bone (the pre-maxillary) is short and projecting. The shape of the skull resembles that of the Sphinx Baboon.

Their name, given to them by the naturalist, is as great a puzzle as are many others devoted to animals, for what possible connection can there be between the Hamadryads, the nymphs whose birth, life, and death were mysteriously united with the corresponding epochs in the growth of the oak-tree, and a most un-nymphlike creature which likes rocks, holes, and dens, but who neither cares for oaks nor acorns?

THE GELADA BABOON.[62]

These Baboons are quite as clever as the great Dog-faced kind, which has been immortalised by the ancient Egyptians, and every now and then troops of both come in contact and have great fights. The Gelada Baboon, with its long tail tufted at the end, and black limbs, has very long hair on its upper parts of a pale brown colour. This covers the head where there is a dark line from the forehead backwards, and also the shoulders and rump. This Baboon, moreover, has the nostrils opening high up in the face, and not close to the end of the upper jaw, as in the Hamadryas. Differing thus from the Hamadryas Baboons, each troop soon knows its comrades. Occasionally, when the fields are ripe with grain, the Geladas, perched upon their mountain homes, see the glowing and varied colours of the vegetation, and long for the luxuries of the plains. They descend and sometimes rob the farmers with impunity, and return after having committed a vast amount of mischief. But it happens that the great Dog-faced troops are out on the same errand, and the two sets of thieves speedily disagree. A fight ensues, and the Geladas roll down large stones, which the others try to avoid, and then they all rush together to close quarters, making a great uproar, and fighting with great fury. Some of these gallant Geladas had the audacity to stop a Serene Highness in his travels in Abyssinia, and very effectually, for some hours. A Duke of Coburg-Gotha was in a caravan which had to traverse the pass of Mensa, in Abyssinia, and as there were some of the Baboons perched in numbers on the sides of the high rocky ravine, some of the Europeans, who of course must try and kill something as often as possible, fired upon them. The Baboons retaliated in a most military manner, by rolling down stones in such quantity and of such a size that not only had the firing party to retire, but the passage of the caravan was stopped. They positively closed the pass against all comers for some time.

Darwin tells a laughable anecdote of a Baboon, but does not mention the kind. He saw in the Zoological Gardens a Baboon who always got in a furious rage when his keeper took out a letter or book and read it aloud to him; and his rage was so violent that, as Mr. Darwin witnessed, on one occasion he bit his own leg till the blood flowed.

THE PIG-TAILED BABOON, OR CHACMA.[63]

The Hottentots are familiar with one of the largest kinds of the Baboons, which reaches the size of an English Mastiff, and has superior strength, and they call it the T’chackamma, which has been reduced by Europeans to the “Chacma.” The colonists of the Cape of Good Hope districts called it the Black Ape, and then, from some fanciful resemblance of its tail to that of a Pig, the creature was dignified with the name porcarius.

The Chacmas are found in great troops, and they behave very much after the manner of the other large Baboons, their strength rendering them a terror to the Dogs of the colonists. In ascending the kloofs, or passes, in the mountains of South Africa, which are frequently steep, narrow, and dangerous, travellers often disturb great troops of these animals, which have been sunning themselves on the rocks. If not attacked they scamper up the sides of the mountains yelling and screaming. They resent being fired upon by rolling down stones.

The Chacma has a fine black tail, which is rather more than half the length of the body, and it has a tuft of long black hair at its tip. It is carried like that of the other long-tailed Baboons, being curved upwards at first, and then falling down straight. Nearly all the fur of the body is a uniform dark brown, almost black, mixed throughout with a dark green shade. It is long and shaggy, particularly on the neck and shoulders of the males. If a solitary hair be pulled out, it will be found to be very curiously ornamented. It has a root, like all hairs, springing from a little pimple under the scarf-skin, and its colour is at first of a light grey colour. Then it is marked with wide rings of colour, which are perfectly distinct, and they are alternately black and dark green, but sometimes they are intermixed with a few of a lighter or yellowish shade. The face and ears are naked, as are also the palms and soles, and there are small whiskers, grey in colour and brushed backwards. Naked as are the face, ears, and hands, the skin is of a very dark violet-blue colour, with a pale ring surrounding each eye. Strange to say, the upper eyelids are white.

In the adult the muzzle is very long in comparison with the skull, which is greatly flattened and contracted; but in the young, the size of the nose is not so apparent, and the head is rounder, and the brain case is larger in proportion. As age comes on, the brain is not increased in size correspondingly with the face.

There is no doubt that the old Baboons have a very fine sense of smelling, their noses are large, and the sentient surface is great; moreover, this gift has been tested and used to the advantage of many a wanderer and settler in the districts where water is scarce at the surface, but plentiful here and there, resting on rocks which are covered with sand or soil. The Baboon can find out water when even the Bushmen are quite at fault, and when other animals are dying of thirst. When a manageable Baboon is at hand, and people are in a dreary district searching for water, they lead him in the required direction suffering from thirst, and give him his liberty. He moves over the ground quickly, smelling here and there, or gallops with extended nostrils, now turning in one direction and now in another, quartering out his ground like a Dog. Sooner or later he stops and begins to dig with his hands, and then the people come up, and water is almost always found, and in quantity.

Although the young Chacmas are playful enough, and are full of nonsense and fun in captivity, they, like all their kindred Baboons, become surly, ferocious, and unsafe as they grow old and have their bodies perfectly developed to the perfection of baboonism. That is to say, when the face, jaws, and teeth become as large as they ever will be, and the body becomes as short and as muscular as possible. They then scowl at the visitor, and grind and show their great teeth at the slightest provocation, grumbling and growling also, and in fact, to quote the words of a very precise naturalist, “the fierceness and brutality of their character and manners correspond with the expression of their physiognomy.” Nevertheless, they are amenable to soft influences. In spite of their savage and untamable disposition, they are influenced by that most potent of all attractions. They are, in the language of the writer just quoted, “agitated by the passion of love or jealousy. In captivity they are thrown into the greatest agitation at the appearance of young females”--not females of the Baboon tribe, but those who, under all circumstances, are now called ladies. “It is a common practice,” continues the writer, “among itinerant showmen, to excite the natural jealousy of these Baboons by caressing or offering to kiss the young females who resort to their exhibitions, and the sight never fails to excite in these animals a degree of rage bordering on frenzy. On one occasion a large Baboon of this species escaped from his place of confinement in the Jardin des Plantes at Paris, and far from showing any disposition to return to his cage, severely wounded two or three of his keepers who attempted to recapture him. After many ineffectual attempts to induce him to return quietly, they at length hit upon a plan which was successful. There was a small grated window at the back part of the den, at which one of the keepers appeared, in company with the daughter of the superintendent, whom he appeared to kiss and caress within view of the animal. No sooner did the Baboon witness this familiarity, than he flew into the cage with the greatest fury, and endeavoured to unfasten the grating of the window which separated him from the object of his jealousy. Whilst employed in this vain attempt, the keepers took the opportunity of fastening the door, and securing him once more in his place of confinement. Nor is this a solitary instance of the influence which women can exert over the passions of these savage animals. It is said that, generally untractable and incorrigible whilst under the management of men, it usually happens that Baboons are most effectually tamed and led to even more than ordinary obedience in the hands of women, whose attentions they often repay with gratitude and affection.”

There is another side to the picture, however, and probably about as true. “Travellers sometimes speak of the danger which women run who reside in the vicinity of the situation which these animals inhabit, and affirm that the negresses on the coast of Guinea are occasionally kidnapped by the Baboons; we are even assured that certain of those women have lived among the Baboons for many years, and that they were prevented from escaping by being shut up in caves in the mountains, where, however, they were plentifully fed, and in other respects treated with great kindness! It is to be observed, however,” writes this author, “that these accounts rest upon authority which is by no means unexceptionable; credible and well-informed modern travellers do not relate them, and even their older and more credulous predecessors give them only from hearsay.”

There is a curious connection between the growth of the hair on some parts of Monkeys and their combative habits. Thus these Baboons have a long mane, and that of the male is, of course, the longer; and these are perhaps the only Apes which seize each other by the nape of the neck with their long canine teeth, the males being the fighters. The mane, then, is clearly of advantage. On one occasion this propensity displayed itself on one of the higher animals who was not thus protected, in an attack by a Baboon on one of the keepers at the Zoological Gardens, the keeper unfortunately having no clothes on the back of his neck to act as a mane. The man was stooping down, when the Baboon suddenly pounced on him, and bit him most severely and dangerously in this exposed spot. During this savage and unexpected attack, the affectionate impulses of a little Monkey were of great use and service, for, seeing its keeper in danger, it bit the brute, and screamed in such a manner as to distract its attention, and to allow the man to escape.

All the Chacmas, however, are not furiously jealous, or fighters, or kidnappers of women, for many have excellent memories of kindnesses, and do not fail to express their gratitude. Thus Sir Andrew Smith was recognised by a Baboon at the Cape of Good Hope, with much evidence of satisfaction, after he had been absent for nine months. The females are also often very tender and affectionate. One of them, an old female, adopted a little Rhesus Monkey, and took all sorts of care of it; but when a young Drill and Mandrill were placed in the cage she seemed to perceive that those Monkeys, though distinct species, were her nearer relations, for she at once rejected the Rhesus, and adopted both of them. The young Rhesus was greatly discontented at being thus rejected, and it would, like a naughty child, annoy and attack the young Drill and Mandrill wherever it could do so safely; this conduct exciting great indignation in the old Baboon. Another female Baboon had so capacious a heart that she not only adopted young Monkeys of other species, but stole young Dogs and Cats, which she continually carried about. Her kindness, however, did not go so far as to share her food with her adopted offspring. An adopted kitten scratched this affectionate and selfish old thing, who certainly had a fine intellect, for she was much astonished at being scratched, and immediately examined the kitten’s feet, and without more ado bit off the claws!

Le Vaillant in his African travels was accompanied by a Monkey, which was probably one of these Chacmas. It lived on very good terms with cocks and hens, thus disproving the antipathy which tradition has handed down as existing between these very different creatures. He was amused at the one, and stole the eggs of the other. In fact, he not only tasted the eggs of his own accord, but was made to taste all sorts of fowls and nuts for the benefit of the travellers, who feared being poisoned. If this creature, which was called “Kees,” refused them, they were left untouched by those who had a very sensible opinion of his instinct. Besides being taster he was watch-dog. “By his cries,” writes the traveller, “and other expressions of fear, we were always informed of the approach of an enemy before my Dogs could discover it. They were so accustomed to his voice, that they slept in perfect security, and never went the rounds, on which account I was very angry, fearing that I should no longer find that indispensable assistance which I had a right to expect if any disorder or fatal accident should deprive me of my faithful guardians. However, when he had once given the alarm, they all stopped to watch the signal, and on the least motion of his eyes, or the shaking of his head, I have seen them all rush forward, and run far away in the quarter to which they observed his looks directed. I often carried him along with me in my hunting excursions, during which he would amuse himself climbing up the trees in order to search for game, of which he was remarkably fond. Sometimes he discovered honey in the crevices of rocks, or in hollow trees, but when he found nothing, when fatigue and exercise had whetted his appetite, and when he began to be seriously oppressed with hunger, a scene took place which appeared to me exceedingly comic. When he could not find game or honey, he searched for roots, and ate them with relish, especially one of a particular species, which, unfortunately for me, I found excellent and very refreshing, and which I wanted greatly to partake of. But Kees was very cunning. When he found any of this root, if I was not near him to claim my part, he made great haste to devour it, having his eyes directed all the time towards me. By the distance I had to go before I could approach him he judged of the time that he had to eat it alone, and I indeed arrived too late. Sometimes, however, when he was deceived in his calculation, and when I came upon him sooner than he expected, he instantly endeavoured to conceal the morsels from me; but by means of a blow well applied I compelled him to restore the theft; and in my turn becoming master of the envied prey, he was obliged to receive laws from the offended party. Kees entertained no rancour or hatred, and I easily made him comprehend how detestable was that base selfishness of which he had set me an example. To tear up these roots Kees employed an ingenious method, which afforded me much amusement. He laid hold of the tuft of leaves with his teeth, and pressing his four paws firmly against the earth, and drawing his head backwards, the root generally followed. When this method did not succeed, he seized the tuft as before, as close to the earth as he could, then throwing his heels over his head, the root always yielded to the jerk he gave it. In our marches, when he found himself tired, he got upon the back of one of my Dogs, which had the complaisance to carry him for whole hours together. One only, which was larger and stronger than the rest, ought to have served him for this purpose; but the cunning animal well knew how to avoid this drudgery. The moment he perceived Kees on his shoulders, he remained motionless, and suffered the caravan to pass on, without ever stirring from the spot. The timorous Kees still persisted; but as soon as he began to lose sight of us he was obliged to dismount, and both he and the Dog ran with all their might to overtake us. For fear of being surprised, the Dog dexterously suffered him to get before him, and watched him with great attention. In short, he had acquired an ascendency over my whole pack, for which he was perhaps indebted to the superiority of his instinct; for among animals, as among men, address often gets the better of strength. While at his meals Kees could not endure guests; if any of the Dogs approached too near him at that time, he gave them a hearty blow, which these poltroons never returned, but scampered away as fast as they could. It appeared to me extremely singular, and I could not account for it, that next to the Serpent, the animal which he most dreaded was one of his own species; whether it was that he was sensible that his being tamed had deprived him of great part of his faculties, and that fear had got possession of his senses, or that he was jealous and dreaded a rivalry in my friendship. Sometimes he heard others of the same species making a noise in the mountains; and notwithstanding his terror, he thought proper, I know not for what reason, to reply to them. When they heard his voice they approached; but as soon as he perceived any of them he fled with horrible cries; and running between our legs, implored the protection of everybody, while his limbs quivered through fear. We found it no easy matter to calm him; but he gradually resumed after some time his natural tranquillity. He was very much addicted to thieving, a fault common to almost all domestic animals; but in Kees it became a talent, the ingenious efforts of which I admired, and notwithstanding all the correction bestowed on him by my people who took the matter seriously, he was never amended. He knew perfectly well how to untie the ropes of a basket to take provisions from it; and, above all, milk, of which he was remarkably fond; more than once he has made me go without any. I often beat him pretty severely myself; but when he escaped from me, he did not appear at my tent till towards night.” “Milk in baskets!” why truly the term “basket,” as applied to a vessel for holding milk, appears to require some explanation; but it was really carried in baskets woven by the Yonaquas, of reeds so delicate and so close in texture that they might be employed in carrying water or any liquid. The abstraction of the milk may be considered as a kind of set-off against the appropriation of Kees’s favourite root by his master. The pertinacious way in which Kees bestrode Le Vaillant’s Dogs will recall to the remembrance of some a Monkey that was, and perhaps still is, riding about London in hat and feather, with garments to match, upon a great Dog, with the usual accompaniment of hand-organ and Pan’s pipe. Upon these occasions the Monkey evidently feels proud of his commanding position; but ever and anon we have seen him suffer from one of those sad reverses of fortune to which the greatest among us are subject. In the midst of the performance, while the organ and pipe are playing, and the Monkey has it all his own way, and, elevated with the grandeur that surrounds him, is looking in a supercilious manner at the admiring crowd, some good-natured but unlucky boy throws the Dog a bit of cake, in his zeal to pick up which the latter lowers his head and shoulders so suddenly as infallibly to pitch his rider over his head. We have thought more than once that there was a sly look about the Dog as he regarded the unseated Monkey, utterly confounded by his downfall, and the accompanying shouts of laughter from the bystanders.

The Pig-tailed Baboon being very clever, very agile, and able to use his jaws admirably in digging, eating, and fighting, should have a good skull, and certainly that of an adult, although useful is extremely ugly. The brain-case is even for a Baboon small in comparison with the rest of the skull, and it is hidden in front by the large prominences over the orbits; it swells out behind, and is marked by a side crest, which passes backwards to meet that of the other side from above each ear. The orbits are separated by a straight (vertical) ridge of bone, which gives a curious look to the face, and makes the eyes look straight to the front along the swollen nose. The openings for the nostrils in the skull (anterior nares) are large and rather oval, and the upper jaw is as it were nipped in above the grinders, and then swollen out above. The long nose bones (nasals) are separated by a slight depression from the great ridges of the upper jaw. The huge upper canine teeth are most extraordinary. They are slim, slightly curved, long (1½ inch), and sharp at the tip; when examined they are almost rapier-shaped or triangular in outline, the front of the triangle is grooved, and the back is a sharp cutting edge. The groove is for the top of the lower canine which works into it, and the sharp edge behind cuts upon the tooth in the lower jaw behind the lower canine (the first pre-molar), pushing it backwards and displacing it. These fangs are very terrible to look at, and yet it appears that their principal work is done with the back edge of the upper one grinding and cutting on the curiously-started tooth of the lower jaw. They are capital holders, root-cutters, and nut-crackers.

THE SPHINX BABOON.[64]

There is nothing much more amusing than to see a young Sphinx Baboon just a little irritated by some one who knows him. They are fine large creatures even when young, and have then an amiable expression of countenance, which they lose with the cares of old age. Greatly resembling the young of the Chacma, they have much the same disposition for play, and can be made a little jealous and fierce. Their colour differs, for their black face is encircled by a dark hair with a decided greenish tint, which is very universal, and upon this they appear to be arranged as different in kind. One in the Zoological Gardens was very active, running on all-fours well, and climbing up the wires of his cage to look at his neighbours. He would come to the side, and on being asked whether he would have a scratch, turned round and placed his back at the disposal of the scratcher, whose operations he much enjoyed; moreover, he put out his hands and feet for examination, and was very quiet. But he had a trick which was not only curious but instructive, as it explained how these Baboons can throw stones, and with good aim. Somebody who knew him came to see him with a lady and offered him a greengage, and when he was about to take it, pretended to give it to her. This excited the indignation of the Sphinx, who trotted off to the further end of his cage and seized a tin pot, which sometimes contained food or water. Taking it in both hands he ran towards the lady and threw it forcibly, and in a good line, at her. He followed his pot, and as it came back by rebounding from the wires he escaped it by straddling his legs. Then he came to the side and scolded much, and looked much put out. He soon forgave the injury, and submitted to having his back scratched with pleasure. Then the greengage was offered again, and before he could take it the fruit was presented to a Baboon in the next compartment. This led to the same result--a rush off to the end of the cage, a rummage for the pot, and a very good throw with both the hands. At length, when he had the fruit given to him he was perfectly content. His looks at the lady were certainly cross and angry enough. Evidently there is a good power of aiming, and as the object is thrown as the Baboon is moving it receives a considerable impetus.

The Sphinx Baboon, or Cynocephalus sphinx, inhabits Guinea, and is commonly seen in menageries, and stuffed in museums. As old age comes on its character alters as well as its aspect of countenance; it ceases to be familiar and becomes morose and ferocious. The skull of the Sphinx Baboon resembles, to a certain degree, that of the Hamadryas Baboon, but the orbits are decidedly oblique. There is the same filling up of the upper jaw-bones, and the cheek-bones do not project very much.

THE ANUBIS BABOON.[65]

These Baboons live a very peculiar life in the neighbourhood of Angola, a Portuguese settlement on the western coast of Africa. Instead of delighting in the dense woods and glades of the tropical country close by, where fruit, nuts, and roots exist in vast abundance, and where water is most plentiful, they prefer to inhabit a hilly district which is much cut up in all directions by deep dry gullies, and grand rocky ravines. The country is badly supplied with vegetation, and water is very scarce. There are a few prickly shrubs, a few roots of grass, and certain kinds of thick club-stemmed dwarf shrubs all bearing a few leaves, only during the few months of the year in which rain falls. During the rest of the year nothing is seen but bare rock and scorched leafless firewood. At distances far apart, water only exists in deep dry gullies under the sand. In the neighbourhood of the rivers on that part of the coast vegetation is most luxuriant, but the Monkeys prefer the arid country, living principally on the root and stem of one of the most extraordinary plants in the world--the Welwitschia.

The dog-like jaws of these Apes are very useful in gnawing the exposed roots of these plants, and they manage to nibble them just as a Sheep does a turnip. When thirsty they seek for water, and in company with Zebras and other animals excavate or scrape holes in the sand until it is found over the hard sub-rock.

They are very wary, and usually assemble in troops of fifteen or more, and when they move about they send forward one or two who act as scouts, and give signals to the main body about what is going on in front. Some time since a man opened a well at some copper-mines on the hills, and he soon found that the Baboons knew what he had done, for they came down to drink in bodies of thirty or forty.

They run very fast and on all-fours in a kind of sideway gallop, and the little ones ride on the backs of their dams, holding very tight and safely. It appears that there is some discipline going on amongst them when they are in bodies, for if a scout should happen not to signal danger or whatever is interesting to the whole band, the rest set upon him, and give him a good thrashing.

Some similar or perhaps the same kind of Baboon lives a more pleasant life than these in another district in the neighbourhood of Angola. There are some most extraordinary rocks which are situated some two hundred or more miles in the interior, and were mentioned more than two centuries ago in the books of missionaries and other travellers as great wonders of nature. They are the Black Rocks of Pungo Andongo. These rocks, rising on the outskirts of a district celebrated for its marvellous fertility and richness of vegetation, are arid-looking on the top, and dark, partly from the natural tint of the stone which is composed of gneiss. They encircle a valley, and extend over about ten square miles, being rugged, or in the form of gigantic pillars. Sloping away from the valley region with its great forests, they present precipitous sides towards it, and are broken up by ravines.

At first sight the stone of the precipices appears to be sterile or poor in vegetation, but the nearer the margin of the high land is approached the more luxuriant it becomes, the more flowery the open fields, and the more numerous the crystal brooks. Cultivation goes on here, and grain is carefully sewn, maize especially. In other parts of the valley a dense dark-green primeval forest reaches close to the precipitous and partly sterile walls of rock. The upper part of the precipices and rocks is, however, bare of any shrub or tree-like vegetation, and looks arid enough during the greater part of the year. Now all this is of great importance to the Baboon. He lives on the top of the rocks in hollows and under ledges of stone, and safely placed there in inaccessible places, he surveys the fertile scene below him, and selects the choicest of the fields for the supply of his food. Probably there would be no such oasis in the country were it not for a very curious plant which really gives the name to the “Black Rocks,” and which clothes the hills during the wet season. And if there were no fertile valley the Baboon would certainly not be found in this district. As the wet season progresses, the hills look blacker and blacker, their ruggedness disappears, and even the sterile faces of the precipices grow dark, and the vegetation of the valley appears to crowd up their slope. All this alteration is produced by the vigorous and indeed enormous growth of a singular plant called Scytonema. It retains much moisture within its tangles, and long after the rains have ceased to be felt and to influence the vegetation of the valley, the aridity of the district is antagonised or put off for a while by this interesting property. The Scytonema selects the bare rocks for its favourite locality, and these surround the valley with its teeming vegetation as with a great sponge, whose moisture prolongs the weeks of plant life and of active growth, and adds to a wonderful fertility. With plenty of running water, abundance of food, and a very safe shelter, the Baboons have great cause to thank the Scytonema. They flourish amongst the rocks, and are a terrible scourge to the inhabitants of the valley. Their cunning and boldness are remarkable, and are increased by their numbers. After surveying the growth of the choicest fields of Indian corn they assemble in great troops and destroy entire plantations in a single night.

THE COMMON BABOON.[66]

There is a Baboon which is much more commonly seen in menageries on the Continent than any other, and which is kept by the Arabian and Egyptian jugglers; yet it is by no means satisfactorily made out whether it is a particular species or only the young or even adult form of some one of those already described. It has a name, however, which ought to leave the identity of the creature in no doubt--it is the Common Baboon, or Cynocephalus papio. If it really comes from all the places whence it is said to be derived it lives over a vast district, and is to be found on the west or Guinea Coast inland, in Abyssinia, and on the Nile further north. Sir John Kirk found them in Zambesia in Eastern Equatorial Africa, and was told that the natives held them as sacred, and preserved them, calling them “Nyam” and “Manganja.” But probably the specimens from Guinea are these of the Sphinx Baboon, those from Abyssinia are the females of the Hamadryas or of Geladas and possibly there may be some in this district which really are true Papio Baboons.

They are very common in the half wild and tame condition; and as they often have to take care themselves in the midst of a very restless and half-starving set of men, their senses become sharpened, and their intelligence becomes exalted in a most curious manner. But nothing is known of them in the wild state.

They are large animals, and their hair is of a uniform yellowish-brown colour, slightly shaded with sandy or light red tints. The whiskers are of a light fawn colour, and the face, ears, and hands and naked and black; the upper eyelids are white and naked, and the tail is about one-half the length of the body, but it has no tuft. They have no mane, and the muzzle is not so prolonged as in the Hamadryas and Chacma Baboons; nevertheless, the cheeks are rather swollen, and in this there is a faint resemblance to the Mandrill, but they are not coloured, and the muzzle is thin beyond them, and as it were truncated. The ears are visible, and are black and hairless, but are somewhat pointed. All the underneath of the body and the under part of the limbs are covered with hairs of a brown colour. Some are of a greenish hue, and the hairs are not of one colour.

Buffon had one that was full grown, and it was as savage as well could be. It exhibited all the ferocity of disposition and intractability of nature common to the rest of its kind when full grown “It was not,” says he, “altogether hideous, and yet it excited horror. It appeared to be continually in a state of savage ferocity, grinding its teeth, perpetually restless, agitated by unprovoked fury. It was obliged to be shut up in an iron cage, of which it shook the bars so powerfully with its hands as to inspire the spectators with apprehension. It was a stout-built animal, whose nervous limbs and compressed form indicated great force and agility; and although the length and thickness of its shaggy coat made it appear to be much larger than it was in reality, it was nevertheless so strong and active that it might have readily resisted the attacks of several unarmed men.”

But although thus ferocious in old age, they are amusing, tractable, teachable, and even affectionate when young; they know and like their master, are orderly when with him, can be taught all sorts of tricks, and they even like the young of other animals as pets. There are of course all sorts of stories told about them, some of which are true, for they were told by reliable naturalists from the results of their own experience, but the majority have too much of the wonderful in them, and are clearly the results of Eastern imaginations. A distinguished naturalist and traveller took much pains with some Baboons, and learned much of their habits and curious tricks, and his first pupil was amusing enough. Of course Baboons differ like higher animals in their temper and lightness of disposition; some are grumpy and stupid, and others are as friendly and frolicsome as a genially-disposed Dog. One of these last came into his hands, and was, for a Baboon, quite amiable-looking, full of vivacity, and possessed of a vast amount of animal spirits and talent for the mischievous. He had a place set apart for him near one of the gates of the establishment in Egypt, where he acted as a sort of watch-dog. This duty he performed to perfection, and no one dared to attempt to enter without his leave. To those whom he knew he was polite, but to all others he was quite the reverse. Walking backwards and forwards in great ire when disturbed by anybody unknown to him, he finally stood stiffly on three of his legs, and hammered away at the floor with the knuckles of the other, just as a man raps a table when in a pet. His eyes glared, and he gave tongue in a fierce growling bark.

Sometimes he would put on a most enticing look, and seem most kindly disposed, seeking as it were the friendly notice of people; then out would come his hand for something nice to be given him, and if refused all his good looks departed, and he behaved more like a devil than a watch-dog, rushing at his enemy, and endeavouring to bite and scratch. He was on good terms with all the animals of the neighbourhood, but took a great dislike to some Ostriches which wandered about, and often came close to him, not apparently that they were necessarily unbeloved by Apes, but because they did him some very evil services most unintentionally. He liked to get on a wall under a quantity of straw, which protected him from the sun, and there he dozed away. Now the Ostrich had a very bad habit of trying to swallow or peck at everything; nothing comes amiss so that it can be swallowed; and they one and all are constantly poking here and poking there for most curious titbits. This was the case with the Ostriches in the Baboon’s neighbourhood, and it now and then happened that as they were on the search for a novelty they noticed his fine stout tail hanging from the top of the wall. Of course the first Ostrich which was near gave it a good peck with his strong beak, and doubtless a good pull also. This was a most uncalled-for liberty, and not only woke up the sleeper, and hurt him, but also offended his dignity. He awoke full of rage, and before the Ostrich could give a second peck at the gristly morsel the furious Baboon rushed from under the straw, seized his enemy by the neck, and cuffed his head most soundly. He hated Ostriches ever after. The same Baboon was taken on board a boat with the travellers, and exhibited a great fear of the water. After a while he got a little accustomed to it, and gradually was tempted to touch it. He used to go the whole length of his cord, which kept him safe and sound, and, clinging on, would just let one of his feet touch the glistening surface, and drag through the water. This trick he used to do when he was thirsty, for he sucked the water from off his foot.

He was very fond of young animals, and took upon himself the occupation of nurse, whether the mothers liked it, or the little ones cared for it or not. Thus, on once going through the streets of a town seated on the baggage-wagon, the Baboon was tied fast by a good long cord, which gave him much liberty. He saw by the side of the road a Dog with a litter of puppies, and immediately darted off, caught up one of them, and was returning before the mother had recovered from the shock produced by his audacity. She rushed after him as he retreated with the little puppy clasped to his bosom with one of his arms, and so vigorously did she pursue that the Baboon was placed in difficulty, and had to exercise all his resources to get out of her way with his charge. The wagon was on the move, and the rope was at its fullest length, when he suddenly took hold of it with the spare hand, and running himself clear, and alighting on his hind legs, met the attack of the furious Dog most bravely. So stoutly did he persist, that the natives rather took his part, and he retained the little Dog. Afterwards his master took it from him, and restored it, to his great disgust; and, indeed, he was extremely offended, and was sulky and out of temper for long afterwards. Doubtless, if some intelligent men, who were accustomed to treat animals properly, would undertake the education of Baboons, they would be successful to a considerable degree; and there is no reason why they should not be as useful to man as the Dog. But they are teased and worried into a premature and senile savageness when in captivity.

One of the plans of teaching a Baboon to like his master is to keep him constantly in the house where he is; the master feeds him, and is kind and never teasing to him, giving him, however, friendly scratches on the back, and having romps with him. Then, when he will answer to some name or call, and has become familiarised with all around, some one comes in with a whip and begins to talk loudly, and to order the Baboon out of the place. The creature is frightened, and is rather disposed to resist; whereupon the master makes his appearance, and pretends to take his part by opposing the intruder with violent gestures and threats, and making much of the poor brute. This has usually an excellent effect, and produces satisfactory results, the Baboon clinging henceforth to his friend. They are taught to help their masters in conjuring and juggling, and do some tricks well.

The skull of this Baboon has a face occupying about half of it, and the brain case is much contracted behind and at the sides of the brows, and is flattened behind and above, so that the top of the head and eyes look pressed down. There is a ridge at the back of the skull extending from each ear-bone to a little knot at the back part of the occiput. All the back of the head is marked by the impression of the muscles of the back and neck, and the space for the jaw muscles is large on the side. Underneath, the skull is very long, there is the usual small space for the opening of the nostrils into the throat, and the palate is long and arched. In a specimen in the British Museum there is a little hook of bone on one of the small hones at the base of the skull (internal pterygoid bone), which is seen also in man, and it is for a tendon of a muscle to pass around, the use of the muscle being to render the soft palate tense. Why this should be so well grown in this Baboon, whose voice is no better than others, is certainly strange. The face is made broad near the eyes by the projecting cheek-bones, and the orbits are broad, not widely open, and they are separated, as in some of the other Baboons, by a part of the forehead bone (frontal), and the upper part of the nose bones (nasals). The nostril opening is very triangular, and on either side is the broad smaller surface of the upper jaw-bone. The front bone of the upper jaw is very projecting. One is struck with the huge chin of the lower jaw, and how slanting and comparatively small are the jowl ends of it. Evidently from the great breadth of the back of the lower jaw, and its roughness for muscular attachments, it is a very strong one, the narrow part in front which holds the teeth being well moved up and down, and side to side, in biting and masticating.

Their hands are rather short, the fingers are black, and the third and fourth are of the same length; they are strong and hold well, the thumb, however, being of no very great assistance.

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IX. THE DOG-SHAPED MONKEYS (concluded). THE BABOONS

The Second Division of the Baboons--THE MANDRILL--Easily Distinguished from the rest--Peculiar Appearance and Colour of the Face--The Cheek-ridges--Noticed by the Ancients--Brutality of its Disposition--“Jerry” at the Surrey Gardens--Their Wild State--Anatomical Peculiarities--The Back-bone and Liver--THE DRILL--Distinguished from the Mandrill--Probable Antiquity of these Baboons--Theories of their Relationship to other Animals--THE BLACK BABOON--Its Locality and Description--Probably a Forest Ape--General Summary of the Dog-shaped Quadrumana and Classification of the Group.

THE MANDRILL.[67]

This large Baboon is the principal one with a very short stump of a tail, and may be distinguished from all others, with and without long tails, by the enormous swellings of its cheeks on each side of its nose, and their odd colouring. In general shape it resembles the rest of the genus, but perhaps its head and chest may be more bulky, and its limbs shorter and stouter than the others, when it has attained its full growth. A full-grown male measures five feet when standing upright, and the colour of the hair is a light olive-brown above and silvery-grey beneath, and the chin is decorated with a small pointed yellow beard. It has a “brutus” in the form of a great tuft of hair on the top of the head, Nature having brushed up the hair off the temples and forehead upwards, in a peak-shaped ridge on the crown, giving a triangular appearance to the whole. The ears are naked and pointed near their tips, and their colour is bluish-black. The muzzle and the lips are large, and as it were swollen and projecting, and the former is not only long, but is surrounded above with an elevated rim or border, and cut short or truncated like that of a Hog. But the most extraordinary features of this ugliest of faces are the projections on each side of the nose. These are formed by swellings of the cheek-bones along the base of the great canine teeth, and the skin covering them is ribbed, and has ridges which are alternately light blue, scarlet, and deep purple in colour, contrasting strangely with the other tints of the hair. To add to the strange look, the eyes are deeply sunken, and their colour, a deep hazel, contrasts with a streak of vermilion, which reaches down each side of the nose to the lip, and extends upwards in the neighbourhood of the brows, which are large and “beetled.” A forehead would clearly be out of place in such a brute, and therefore it recedes rapidly above the eyes, and is lost in the great tuft of hair.

The canine teeth are immense, and when the animal is enraged they and the others are shown, their beautiful white colour contrasting with the strange medley of tints around them. On the body the hair is very bristly, but the hands and feet are naked, and as if to add to the many peculiarities of the Mandrill, they are small in relation to the vigorous-looking limbs and short chest.

So curiously decorated a brute living just outside the civilisation of the Egyptians, Greeks, and Romans, was sure to attract notice, especially as they were brought into Europe by the African merchants. Aristotle appears to have been struck with the hog-like look of the head, and he called it by the name of Hog-Ape (Chœropithecus), and all writers, from the earliest to the latest, have contributed opinions founded on very doubtful facts, to the detriment of its character. All the iniquities, abominations, and scandals that have been coupled with the Gorilla, Chimpanzee, and Orang-utan, are linked on fourfold to the character of the ill-favoured Mandrill, and this is decided to be quite correct by the natives of the Gold Coast and the inland regions, where it lives a most dreaded and independent life.

There is no doubt that the Mandrill is extremely brutal in its adult age, and that the males are ferocious and disgusting, there being no particular choice as regards ugliness and oddity of decoration between their faces and sterns, whose callosities are vast. But the young are not so, and probably the quieter tints of the female are associated with a gentler disposition. Both the young and the females have shorter muzzles than the adult males, and they have neither the great cheek-swellings nor the colouring of the face; in fact, it is only when the great eye teeth are being cut by the males, as evidences of its age and powers, that the irregular decoration begins to be noticed.

The question of the colouring and ornamentation of Monkeys will again be noticed in the summary at the close of the description of the Quadrumana, and it is therefore only now necessary to remark that the most grotesque-looking and ferocious Mandrill is especially beautiful in the eyes of his partner, who, with humble colours and softened looks, admires her fractious spouse. His colours glow with love and flame under the influence of passion, and probably no more curious-looking piece of living polychrome was ever seen than “Jerry,” at the Surrey Zoological Gardens, when he got in a rage after drinking gin and water. “Jerry” was old and had gained all his ornaments, but had lost his levity, fur, and amiability. Broderip writes of him: “He liked the good things of Mandrill life, but would not put up with its troubles. He was a glutton, and ferocious in the extreme. Most kindly he would receive your nuts, and at the same time, if possible, would scratch or pinch your fingers, and then snarl and grunt in senseless anger. He would sit in a little arm-chair, and would wrap himself up in a blanket, knowing what was coming, the bribe being either a cup of tea, which he took, as people used to say, ‘quite like any Christian,’ or, what was much nicer in his eyes, a glass of weak grog and a pipe. If he was disturbed in his enjoyment he was not pleasant, and if a shower of nuts came in upon his feast, especially if it occurred after the gin and water, he came out in his true colours. Cramming the nuts into his mouth, and stowing them away rapidly in his cheek-pouches, this giving an unusual size to his jaws, he would howl and march about, snarling and grunting. His little eyes glared, his nose and cheeks became swollen, and their colours most vivid. His hair stood out, and he walked as it were on the very tips of his fingers and toes, presenting every now and then vermilion behind, which a distinguished French anatomist has said was not without elegance.”

He was under the control of the keeper, who had, however, to take care that he was not bitten unawares, for “Jerry” was deceitful and treacherous in the extreme. It is said that he once dined in the presence of royalty, and that he was one of the many higher animals who were invited to dine George the Fourth at Windsor when his Majesty required novel amusements and unusual excitement. Doubtless he behaved himself, and contributed as much, and probably more, than any guest, to the royal enjoyment, and he appears to have enjoyed his hashed venison himself. There was no mistake about his enjoying his pipe, for he smoked as slowly and sedately as the gravest of his visitors at the Zoological Gardens.

Had “Jerry” been let alone, and had he remained in Africa at liberty, doubtless he would have in time headed his troops as patriarch and watchman, and would have led them in many an expedition against the fields of corn and the plantations of fruit-trees. For the Mandrills, in a state of nature, behave much like the other Baboons. They are, however, very fond of insects, large and small, inoffensive and venomous, and they lift up stone after stone in their search for them, enjoying Scorpions as much as anything else. Probably they can throw a stone, and this, coupled with their aspect, their assembling in troops to defy the farmers and watchers, and their attacking Dogs without mercy, has given them the bad character in the eyes of the negro race which they appear to have had from time immemorial. It is said that they annoy the Elephants so much that they will not remain in the same district; but it is doubtful whether the great proboscidean could flourish where the Mandrill cares most to live, for he is neither a forest nor a plain Ape, but, like the rest of the Baboons, travels far and wide from his rocky home. They associate in bands like the other Cynocephali, and behave as they do when plundering; but it appears to be true that the Mandrills are often found in small numbers, and that then they devote themselves to hunting for insects rather than to predatory excursions. Very little is known about their habits in the wild state in Africa, and it is evident that they are avoided rather than watched by the Blacks.

Although, from the scantiness of reliable information regarding their habits when living at liberty, the Mandrill is of no great interest to the ordinary naturalist, still, the comparative anatomist, having had the advantage of dissecting both tame and wild specimens, considers this Monkey, which is ordinarily placed last in the scheme of the classification of the Old World kinds, of very great interest. For, placed low down in the Monkey scale, and remote from the man-like Apes, it approaches the flesh-eating animals, or Carnivora, in many points of its construction, and, if not exactly, still approximately, and in their general character.

The back-bone, for instance, although its curves recall those of man, is eminently that of the brute, that is to say, it greatly resembles that of many kinds of quadrupeds. The pieces, or vertebræ of the back (dorsal) have, of course, spines, but they do not slope backwards; on the contrary, those of the last three are directed forward; and the loin, or lumbar vertebræ, are six or seven in number, and there is an arrangement by which their general strength is increased, by a forking of the joint-bearing processes which unite them together by the formation of a bony structure. These peculiarities connect the Mandrill, whose common position is on all-fours, with the inferior quadrupeds, for they exist in them. Then there is no true sacrum bone, but two or three back pieces (sacral vertebræ), form a short conical sacrum--one attached separately to the hip-bone on either side. This is like the arrangement in the Carnivora. The hip-bones are long, narrow, and deeply excavated behind, or rather externally; the front of the bony girdle of the loins (the pelvis) is long; and the bones (the ischial) on which the Mandrill sits are very broad and semicircular. Now, these three apparently simple matters of anatomical detail are not only of interest to those who recognise the analogies of the same parts in different animals, for they relate to means, to ends, and commend themselves to the consideration of ordinary observers. The shape of the hip-bone on each side, so unlike that of man and the man-like Apes, perhaps the Gibbons excepted, depends upon the relation of the muscles which move the hind-quarters and their bones, and the hollow in the hip is well filled up by those which pass backwards to the thigh. The position of those muscles assists the motion of running on all-fours and of springing. The length of the girdle (the front of the pelvis or pubic bones) relates to the dimensions of the digestive and reproductive organs. The large size of the haunch-bones, or rather of their ends, is due to their being covered by the great pad-like hard parts, or callosities, on which the creature sits very constantly. Instead of having the soft muscles so familiar to the human anatomist well and largely developed there, it has this mass of fat cellular tissue and coloured skin attached to a curved bone, the whole being a most comfortable seat, and very frequently used by this restless Monkey. The bones of the tail are few in number, for it is short, but the muscles which wag the organ in Monkeys, in which it is of some size, are still present at its root. There is a capacious chest in the Mandrill, but its bones, or rather the ribs which partly form it are, as it were, pressed in at the sides, so that it is not round like that of the higher Apes, but rather long and flat at the sides, and thus resembles the chest of the Semnopitheci on the one hand, and that of the lower four-footed animals on the other. It has good lungs and a strong heart, and the intestines, stomach, and liver do not occupy as much space relatively as in the genera of Monkeys already described.

There is a singular approach in the conformation of the fore hand to the paw of the Carnivora, and a great departure, so far as resemblance is concerned, from that of man in the Mandrill. It is produced by the relative length of the bones which unite those of the wrist to those of the fingers; for these so-called metacarpal bones, four in number, leaving out that of the thumb, are of the same length, and not unequal, as in the higher Apes and in man. Therefore, the middle finger of the Mandrill is not longer than the others, and hence the peculiarity of the hand as a whole. This is noticed in some Macaques to a certain extent.

There is one anatomical peculiarity of the body which may also be noticed, as it relates to the movements of the animals, and their trotting and galloping on all-fours. The pieces of the back-bone in the neck have processes which project outwards (transverse processes), and in the Mandrill they have a triangular shape, and a ridge exists upon them, which is the representative of a very distinct piece of bone in most of the other Mammalia. Now, this structure appears to have to do with the attachment of a muscle which is also present in the Macaques, and which reaches from these transverse processes to the spine of the blade-bone (scapula), and its duty is probably to draw this bone forward, and to assist the fore limb in progression.[68]

Most of the peculiar muscular arrangements of the Cynomorpha previously described are repeated in the Mandrill; but it has some which are of much interest. Thus, the great chest muscle (pectoralis major), which reaches in the higher Apes from the front of the chest to the upper arm-bone, is very large in the Mandrill, and is divided into three portions, and the great air sac of the neck projects between them. There are also muscular fibres connected with the back, which assist the animal in pulling back its upper arm, and they give force not only to blows, scratchings, and tearings, but also velocity to the movements of the whole limb in moving along the ground. Strangely enough, there is a curious resemblance between the muscles of the thumb of the Mandrill and of the Orang-utan, two of them being united together, so as to give the thumb seven instead of eight; the tendons of these muscles (the long adductor and the short extensor) remain, however, separate. This is a part of the anatomy which recalls the corresponding structures in the Carnivora, and indicates the restricted amount of movement in the thumb of the lower Apes and Monkeys.

Having a good digestion, the Mandrill has a tolerably large liver, but it is separated into several lobes, or pieces, which are more in number than those of the other genera; but as it is partly insectivorous in its diet, there is no necessity for a very full-sized large intestine, and this is not furnished with the appendix noticed in the man-shaped Apes.

Finally, as regards the skull, it may be said, that that of a large adult Mandrill is the strongest created; so huge are the jaws, face, teeth, and crest-ridges, that one wonders where its brain can be put in life. The true brain-case is indeed small, and is encroached upon inside by the back of the orbits, whence the eye looks out under the “beetle-brows.”

The forehead bone is triangular-looking, and there is no ascending of the forehead, the bone being, as it were, crushed flat, so as to make a triangular space with the brows in front. Ridges exist on the sides of this space, and pass backwards to the occiput, where they meet side crests from the ear-bones. The occiput is stuck up in a singular manner, and the surface of the bone is strongly marked by the muscles which draw the head backwards. Of course the singular part of the skull is the huge ribbed prominence of the upper jaw-bone on the side of the nose, and the great upper canine teeth.

THE DRILL.[69]

Very little is known about the habits of another Baboon which is found on the coast of Guinea, and which is called the Drill. But it has been described, drawn, and stuffed frequently, and has been called Wood Baboon, the Cinereous Baboon, and the Yellow Baboon. The natives evidently confound it with the young Mandrill; and as it is good-tempered when young they capture specimens for European menageries, where they are commonly to be seen. It appears to be a modified Mandrill, like it in temper, and in its disagreeable adult qualities; it has not, however, the grand coloration of the face, although the prominences of the cheek-bones are present.

The Drill is smaller than the Mandrill, and has a short stumpy tail, occasionally two inches in length, covered with bristly hair, and ending in a brush. The colour of the hair is greener than that of the Mandrill, and underneath it is whiter and more silvery, whilst there is much light-brown hair on the upper parts of the limbs. It has whiskers, which are brushed back, and a small orange-coloured beard; moreover, the general tint of the skin beneath the hair is dark-blue, and the dinginess is relieved by scarlet callosities.

The Baboons of Africa certainly lead very exceptional lives for Monkeys. They are the Apes of the rock and plain, and they would be out of place, on account of their method of moving and their general habits, in the dense tropical forests and swampy jungle. Their structure and general conformation are especially suited for their mode of life, and their courage, numbers, and instincts avail them against their common enemies--enemies which the contented dwellers in the woods, such as the Troglodytes, have not. Probably the Baboons are of vast antiquity, for the age of the African hills is great, even geologically speaking. The tree disappears and the woods die away sooner or later, whilst the rock merely crumbles. Certainly the life of the Gorilla and other great Apes is intimately associated and connected with the life of the great trees and the duration of the vast woods of Equatorial Africa. Destroy them, and the days of the Troglodytes would be at an end. But the rocks and hills are not so transient as the woods, and the Baboon will exist long after the higher Apes are extinct. Did he exist before them, and is he the link between them and a still less monkey-like animal? These are questions whose import has not escaped the active mind of one of the most eminent of anatomists, for Gratiolet believes in the descent of the Gorilla from the Baboon, and of course that the last preceded the first in time.

The possibility of the descent of the Cynocephali from a flesh-eater only rests upon the resemblance of some of the structures of the Mandrill, for instance, to those of some of the Carnivora. The dog-like appearance of the Baboon of course depends upon its long snout and jaws, but these are very different in their anatomy and construction from those of the Dog. The Cynocephali (Baboons) are the lowest of the Old World Monkeys, but their next-of-kin in the downward classification are not now existing. They are more remote from the Lemurs, which come next below as Quadrumana, than they are from the great Apes.

Hence the Baboon stands very much by himself. He may have possibly very distant relationship with some long-lost forms--creatures which lived geological ages since, and in which the ferocity of the Carnivora was combined with some of the structures of the Monkey; or--and this is the more probable--he may have once lived as a denizen of the forest, and the symbol of Thoth may really have merited the name of Hamadryas. The forest may have succumbed to changes in the physical geography, and the survivors of the slow extinction of the trees had to lead different lives and assume other habits. The Cercopitheci (the Guenons) may have been the old forest Monkeys, and the Macaques, those half Baboons, may be their modified descendants in a line which led to the true Baboon. If this be true, the dog-like characters of the Cynocephali were given by nature during their progressive alterations from the condition of Tree Monkeys.

THE BLACK BABOON.[70]

There is a small Baboon which is very interesting to the student of the distribution of animals over the surface of the globe and to geologists. It is jet-black in colour, there being hardly a trace of dark-brown in its long hair, and hence it has been called the Black Baboon, or Cynocephalus niger.

These animals are found in considerable numbers in the great island of Celebes, situated in the sea between Australia and the mainland of Asia, and they have been introduced by man into the Philippine Islands and Batchian. They are, therefore, extra-African, but they are true short-tailed Baboons, nevertheless.

The Black Baboon, when full grown, is about two feet in length, and the tail measures about an inch. Its face and neck are not covered, but all the rest of the body, the head, and the limbs, have a long black fur, and the hair of the top of the head runs up into a tall long half-curl. The face is long and very melancholy-looking, and the cheeks are smaller, but coloured black on either side of the nose. But the nose does not extend, like that of a Dog, quite to the end of the muzzle, for the creature has a decided upper lip, and the division or septum of the nostrils is long and rather broad, so that these openings look downwards and outwards. The seat has a scarlet tint, and the tail is a mere knob.

Nothing is known about the wild habits of the Black Baboon, but it appears to be a wood Ape, and it certainly has not the impudence or the bold aggravating courage of the African Baboon in confinement. They are frequently brought over to Europe, and may be watched in most zoological gardens. They are capital climbers, but they like to remain a great deal on the ground, sitting upright on their haunches in a very sedate manner. Associating very well with other Monkeys, they appear rather affectionate in disposition than otherwise, and may be seen looking very quiet and stately whilst some more agile companion rubs his face and lips against theirs, apparently to their gratification. The distinction between the Black Baboon and the African kinds is slight, and they all belong to the same genus,[71] and therefore must have had a common parent in remote times. But the black one lives far away in the Asiatic islands, surrounded by animals different from those which live in Africa, many of which, nevertheless, have a curious African look about them. Now, the geologist asserts that there are proofs of the former connection by land of the mainland of Asia, Hindostan, and Africa. The facts upon which this assertion is made will be stated in several consecutive chapters of this work, and indeed particular allusions to them from time to time will be inevitable. It is only necessary to mention here that the separation of the two great masses of land occurred about the time of the elevation of the Himalayas as a mountain chain, and they are about as old as the Alps of Europe. Hence the Baboons, found as they are in the separated districts, existed as a united genus before those vast changes. If the Black Baboon is a forest dweller--and there appears to be good reason to believe that this is the case--there is something more than simple conjecture in the suggestion that the whole of the Baboons once lived in forest lands.

* * * * *

The Cynomorpha, or Dog-shaped Quadrumana, include the genera Semnopithecus, Colobos, Macacus, and Cynocephalus, and their distinctions and some of their anatomical peculiarities have been noticed, and they may be summarised as follows:--As a group, the Cynomorpha are more fitted for running on all-fours than for any other method of progression, and their construction relates to that of such running animals as the Cats as well as to that of the Monkeys. Thus the arm-bone (humerus) is unlike that of the man-shaped Apes; it is bent so as to be slightly convex forwards, and the top where the round joint is--the head of the bone--look upwards and backwards, and not upwards and inwards as it does in the Gorilla. The forearm bones, longer than the arm-bone, are modified, and the most movable of them (the radius) is so much jointed to the arm-bone that the power of moving the lower part of the forearm upwards and downwards (of pronation and supination) is much diminished. There is the extra bone in the wrist, making nine, and one of the bones sticks out behind (pisiform), so as to form a kind of heel to the hand. The thumb is complete except in the Colobi, but it is short in proportion to the other fingers; and in some the third and fourth fingers are equal in length, thus departing from the Ape, whose third finger is always longest, resembling rather that of beasts of prey. The blade-bone differs much from that of the Anthropomorpha, being longer and narrower, and the portion above its spine, instead of being large, as it is in such ponderous climbers, is small. All these arrangements relate to the running on all-fours, the palms of the hands being applied to the ground. Moreover, in order that the hand should thus resemble a foot in its duties, some of its muscles simulate those of the foot and fore-leg. Thus a muscle which extends the metacarpal bone of the thumb (the bone between the wrist and the thumb under “the ball”), and keeps the thumb flat on the ground in running, and tends to pull it up, has a slip which is attached to the bone of the wrist, called trapezium, and which is at the wrist end of the metacarpal bone. It extends the wrist as well as the thumb. Now this is an arrangement seen in the foot, where a muscle extends the great toe’s metacarpal bone and the ankle bones also. In order to carry out this extension of the fingers, so as to prevent downward bending (or flexing), they have a complete double set of extensor muscles.

All the Cynomorpha have the lifting muscle of the blade-bone; and the muscle which pulls the elbow back and assists in climbing, both in the Gorilla and its fellows, is present (the slip from the back to the elbow, Dorso-epitrochlearis).

The nature of the spine and back-bone processes has been noticed in the Mandrill, but it is necessary to state that the hip-and haunch-bones are not closed in behind by a distinct sacrum, as is the case in the Anthropomorpha. The arrangement in the Cynomorpha closely resembles that of the great beasts of prey, but the haunch-bones are turned out slightly so as to form a seat. There is considerable variation in the number of the bones in the back and tail. With regard to the hinder limbs, the thigh-bone has a round ligament at its joint with the pelvis, and the shaft bends forwards, and when the animal is at rest on all-fours the thigh projects forwards and downwards, thus indicating the almost permanent position of this great bone in most runners on all-fours, the Elephant being a remarkable exception. The heel-bone is flat from side to side, and the toe-thumb, which reaches about half way up the first joint of the next toe, has considerable powers of motion, and can be struck out from the foot or be pulled in. The climbing muscle exists (page 106), as does also the peculiar stretching muscle of the little toe (abductor of the metacarpal bone). A transversus pedis, already noticed, exists. As the fore-limb assists greatly in locomotion, and much climbing is done by it, the “calf” is not much required for the hind limbs; and one of the muscles of it (the soleus) has a comparatively small surface of origin--from the fibula alone. The great muscle of the back of the thigh, which assists in the perfect erect posture and in the running also in man, is incomplete in the Cynomorpha. Its fibres reach from the haunch-bone to the small bone of the fore-leg in these last, but in man they arise also all down the back of the thigh, and enable the knee joint to be kept straight. All these Monkeys have a muscle on the sole of the foot called the plantaris, but it is not seen in animals lower in the scale than the Quadrumana; moreover, all the other muscles of the sole are more isolated than in man, and consequently they produce more distinct and separate movements of the toes, and especially in the toe-thumb. The tail, so variable in its development, consists of numerous bones, which are modified “back-bones,” or vertebræ, and in some there are little bones which are under these, and arranged in a rude V-shape, their office being to protect the blood-vessels which are enclosed by them. The muscles and nerves of this tail are special, and contribute to its different movements. The huge canine teeth and the cutting first pre-molars have been noticed, and it only remains to observe that the Cynomorpha have a first set of teeth (milk teeth) which fall out gradually, and are replaced by the permanent ones. The milk teeth consist of four incisors above and below, two pre-molars above and below, and four true molars above and below, making twenty teeth in all. All these animals, except the first two genera, have simple stomachs, but the liver has several fissures in it in the Baboons (as it has in the Gorilla), and but few in the Asiatic species (as in the Orangs)--facts of no small significance, for it is very probable that the Gorilla is one of the Baboon line, as the Orang is one of the genealogical tree of a Semnopithecus. The brain exhibits all the convolutions seen in the Anthropomorpha, but the very monkeyish external perpendicular one is well marked. The little brain is not uncovered by the brain proper, which is shortest in the Sacred Apes and longest in the Baboons.

The description of the Cynocephali ends that of the Monkeys of the Old World--The Catarrhini--and the whole of the group may be classified as follows:--

Class.--Mammalia.

Order.--Primates.

Family.--Catarrhini.

Sub-Family.--{1. Anthropomorpha. {2. Cynomorpha.

1. Anthropomorpha.

Genus--Troglodytes. Example--The Gorilla and Chimpanzee.

„ Simia. „ The Orang-utan.

„ Hylobates. „ The Gibbons.[72]

2. Cynomorpha.

Genus--Semnopithecus. Example--The Entellus Monkey.

„ Colobos.[73] „ The Guereza.

„ Cercopithecus. „ The Guenons and Mangabeys.[74]

„ Macacus. „ The Magot.

„ Cynocephalus. „ The Baboons.[75]

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