high, and is a native of most parts of Africa and the East. As it recedes from man in its form, so also it appears different in its dispositions, being sullen, vicious, and untractable.(g)

THE BABOON.-Descending from the more perfect of the monkey kinds, we come to the baboon and its varieties, a large, fierce, and formidable race, that, mixing the figure of the man and the quadruped in their conformation, seem to possess only the defects of both; the petulance of the one and the ferocity of the other.

The baboon, properly so called, is from three to four feet high, very strong built, with a thick body and limbs, and canine teeth, much longer than those of men. It has large callosities behind which are quite naked and red. Its tail

When he walks in the erect posture, he turns the leg and foot outwards, which occasions him to have a waddling gait and bowlegged appearance. He would walk the deck, being held by his long arm, and then had a resemblance to a child just learning to walk He has an awkward manner of drinking, by which the liquid is much wasted: he first applies his lips to the liquid, throwing the head up, which may in some degree be attributed to the prominency of the lower jaw; (g) Omnes femellæ hujusce et precedentium, ut et fere sequentium specierum menstruali patiuntur fluxu sicut in feminis.

is crooked and thick, and about seven or eight inches long. Its snout, for it can hardly be called a face, is long and thick, and on each side of its cheeks it has a pouch, into which, when satiated with eating, it puts the remainder of its provisions. It is covered with long thick hair of a reddish brown colour, and pretty uniform over the whole body. It walks more commonly upon all fours than upright, and its hands as well as its feet are armed with long sharp claws, instead of the broad round nails of the ape kind.

An animal thus made for strength, and furnished with dangerous weapons, is found in fact to be one of the most formidable of the savage race, in those countries where it is bred. It appears in its native woods, to be impelled by two opposite passions; an hatred for the males of the human species, and a desire for women. Were we assured of these strange oppositions in its disposition from one testimony alone, the account might appear doubtful; but as it comes from a variety of the most credible witnesses, we cannot refuse our assent. From them, therefore, we learn that these animals will often assail women in a body, and force them into the woods, where they keep them against their will, and kill them when refractory.

At the Cape of Good Hope they are less formidable, but to the best of their power equally mischievous. They are there under a sort of natural discipline, and go about whatever they undertake with surprising skill and regularity. When they set about robbing an orchard or a vineyard, for they are extremely fond of grapes, apples and ripe fruit, they do not go singly to work, but in large companies, and with preconcerted deliberation. On these occasions, a part of them enter the inclosure, while one is set to watch. The rest stand without the fence, and form a line reaching all the way from their fellows within to their rendezvous without, which is generally in some craggy mountain. Every thing being thus disposed, the plunderers within the orchard throw the fruit to those that are without as fast as they can gather it; or, if the wall or hedge be high, to those that sit on the top; and these hand the plunder to those next them on the other side. Thus the fruit is pitched from one to another all along the line, till it is safely deposited at their head-quarters. They catch it as readily as the most skilful tennis-player can a ball; and while the business is going forward, which they conduct with great expedition, a most profound silence is observed among them. Their sentinel, during this whole time, continues upon the watch, extremely anxious and attentive; but if he perceives any one coming, he instantly sets up a loud cry, and at this signal the whole company scamper off. Nor yet are they at any time willing to leave the place empty-handed; for if they be plundering a bed of melons, for instance, they go off with one in their mouths, one in their hands, and one under their arm. If the pursuit is hot, they drop first that from under their arm, then that from their hand; and, if it be continued, they at last let fall that which they had hitherto kept in their mouths. The natives of the Cape often take the young of these animals, and, feeding them with sheep and goats' milk, accustom them to guard their houses which duty they perform with great punctuality.

The largest of the baboon kind is the Mandril; an ugly, disgusting animal, with a tail shorter than the former, though of a much larger stature, being from four to five feet high. The muzzle is still longer than that of the preceding; it is of a bluish colour, and strongly marked with wrinkles, which give it a frightful appearance. But what renders it truly loathsome is, that from the nose there is always seen issuing a snot, which the animal takes care at intervals to lick off with its tongue and swallow. It is a native of the Gold Coast; it is said to walk more frequently erect than upon all fours; and when displeased.

to weep like a child. There was one of them shown in England some years ago. It seemed tame but stupid, and had a method of opening its mouth, and blowing at such as came too near.

The Wanderow is a baboon rather less than the former, with the body less compact and muscular, and the hinder parts seemingly more feeble. The tail is from seven to eight inches long; the muzzle is prominent as in the rest of this kind; but what particularly distinguishes it is a large, long, white head of hair, together with a monstrous white beard, coarse, rough, and descending; the colour of the rest of the body being brown or black. As to the rest, in its savage state, it is equally fierce with the others; but, with a proper education, it seems more tractable than most of its kind, and is chiefly seen in the woods of Ceylon and Malabar.

The Maimon of Buffon, which Edwards calls the Pigtail, is the last of the baboons, and in size rather approaches the monkey, being no larger than a cat. Its chief distinction, besides its prominent muzzle, like a baboon, is in the tail, which is about five or six inches long, and curled up like that of a hog; from which circumstance, peculiar to this animal, our English naturalist gave it the name. It is a native of Sumatra, and does not well endure the rigours of our climate. Edwards, however, kept one of them a year in London; and another of them happening at the same time to be exposed in a show of beasts, he brought the two exiles together, to see if they would claim or acknowledge their kindred. The moment they came into each other's presence, they testified their mutual satisfaction, and seemed quite transported at the interview.*

THE MONKEY.-The varieties in the larger tribes of the monkey kind are but few; in the ape we

have seen but four, and in the baboon about as many. But when we come to the smaller class, the differences among them seem too tedious for enumeration. These, as was observed in the beginning, are all small in stature, and with long tails, by which they are distinguished from the preceding, that entirely want the tail, or are large and have but a short one. The varieties in the form and colour of dogs or squir

(Red Monkey.)

rels, is nothing to what are found among monkeys of the smaller kind. Bosman

A DOG-FACED BABOON.-Died in February, 1828, in the Tower, after having attracted a great deal of attention during its residence in that establishment, by its extraordinary resemblance to humanity, not only in form and appearance, but also in its manners and habits The right arm, in particular, exhibited a singular likeness to the corresponding part of the human figure; so much so, indeed, that had it not been for its hairy covering, and the somewhat unusual length of the fingers, the eye, at least, might almost have mistaken it for a

mentions above fifty sorts on the Gold Coast alone, and Smith confirms the account. Condamine asserts that it would take up a volume to describe the differences of these to be found along the river Amazons; and we are sure that every one of these is very different from those on the African coast.

It is remarkable that the monkeys of two cantons are never found to mix with each other, but rigorously to observe a separation; each forest produces only its own; and these guard their I mits from the intrusion of all strangers of a different race from themselves. In this they somewhat resemble the human inhabitants of the savage nations among whom they are found, where the petty kingdoms are numerous, and their manners opposite.

In general, monkeys of all kinds, being less than the baboon, are endued with less powers of doing mischief. Indeed, the ferocity of their nature seems to diminish with their size; and when taken wild in the woods, they are sooner tamed, and more easily taught to imitate man than the former. More gentle than the baboon, and less grave and sullen than the ape, they soon begin to exert all their sportive mimickries, and are easily restrained by correction.

In their native woods they are not less the pests of man than of other animals. The monkeys, says a traveller.(g) are in possession of every forest where they reside, and may be considered as the masters of the place. Neither the tiger, nor the lion itself, will venture to dispute the dominion, since these, from the tops of trees, continually carry on an offensive war, and by their agility escape all possibility of pursuit. Nor have the birds less to fear from their continual depredations; for, as these harmless inhabitants of the wood usually build upon trees, the monkeys are for ever on the watch to find out and rob their nests; and such is their petulant delight in mischief, that they will fling their eggs against the ground when they want appetite or inclination to devour them.

There is but one animal in all the forest that ventures to oppose the monkey, and that is the serpent. The larger snakes are often seen winding up the trees where the monkeys reside; and, when they happen to surprise them sleeping, swallow them whole before the little animals have time to make a defence. In this manner, the two most mischievous kinds in all nature keep the whole forest between them; both equally formidable to each other, and for ever employed in mutual hostilities. The monkeys in general inhabit the tops of the trees, and the serpents cling to the branches nearer the bottom; and in this manner they are for ever seen near each other, like enemies in the same field of battle.

portion of some brawny blacksmith or hero of the ring. Our deceased friend, we understand, used, at all events, to brandish his pot of porter by its assistance, in a style that would have done honour to any of us; and would swill it off, apparently with quite a human relish. His attentions to a dog that used to be a frequent visiter at his cage, were, we are told, in the very best style of dignified patronizing; nor did the little favourite seem to recognise any difference between the pat of his brother quadruped's paw, and that of the whiter-skinned and shorter fingered animal. This jolly tippler, however, "life's idle business o'er," sunk at last under a confirmed dropsy, the effect, we fear, of his plentiful potations, leaving only the memory of his fate as a warning to all surviving debauchees.-ARCANA OF SCIENCE, 1829.

and soft as silk. The animal was reckoned of a very rare description; so much so, as to excite great wonder and admiration among the natives, who represented that such a creature had never but once, to their knowledge, been seen in those parts; and then the king of Ava sent down a golden cage, with a host of people to escort the animal to the golden presence, and expended, besides, 20,000 rupees in sacrifices and public rejoicings; auguring, from the arrival of the extraordinary stranger, the most happy presages of good fortune. In the present instance, the creature was unfortunately of too young and tender an age when caught. A Burmese fioman, who was nursing an infant of her own, requested permission to suckle it, and very fairly divided her maternal attention between the two. The animal lived in apparent good health and spirits for six days; but, whether it was that its nursing disagreed with it, or that it was naturally very delicate, it died on the seventh day.—ARCANA Or SCIENCE, 1828.

* WHITE MONKEY.-A perfectly white monkey was caught in April, 1827, at RamThe hair on its body was white, curly, (g) Description Historique de Macacar, p. 51.

ree.

The enmity of these animals to mankind is partly ridiculous and partly formidable. They seem, says Le Comte and others, to have a peculiar instinct in discovering their foes; and are perfectly skilled, when attacked, in mutually defending and assisting each other. When a traveller enters among these woods, they consider him as an invader upon their dominions, and join all to repel the intrusion. At first they survey him with a kind of insolent curiosity. They jump from branch to branch, pursue him as he goes along, and make a loud chattering, to call the rest of their companions together. They then begin their hostilities by grinning, threatening, and flinging down the withered branches at him, which they break from the trees: they even take their excrements in their hands, and throw them at his head. Thus they attend him wherever he goes; jumping from tree to tree with such amazing swiftness that the eye can scarce attend their motions.

The curiosity of the Europeans has, in some measure, induced the natives of the places where these animals reside to catch or take them alive by every art they are able. The usual way, in such case, is to shoot the female as she carries her young, and then both, of course, tumble to the ground. But even this is not easily performed; for, if the animal be not killed outright, it will not fallbut, clinging to some branch, continues, even when dead, its former grasp, and remains on the tree where it was shot until it drops off by putrefaction. In this manner it is totally lost to the pursuer; for to attempt climbing the tree, to bring either it or the young one down, would probably be fatal, from the number of serpents that are bid among the branches. For this reason the sportsman always takes care to aim at the head; which, if he hits, the monkey falls directly to the ground, and the young one comes down, at the same time, clinging to its dead parent.

The Europeans, along the coast of Guinea, often go into the woods to shoot monkeys; and nothing pleases the negroes more than to see these animals drop, against which they have the greatest animosity. They consider them, and not without reason, as the most mischievous and tormenting creatures in the world; and are happy to see their numbers destroyed upon a double account-as well because they dread their devastations, as because they love their flesh. The monkey, which is always skinned before it is eaten, when served up at a negro feast, looks so like a child that an European is shocked at the very sight. The uatives, however, who are not so nice, devour it as one of the highest delicacies, and assiduously attend our sportsmen to profit by the spoil.

The negroes consider these animals as their greatest plague; and, indeed, they do incredible damage when they come in companies to lay waste a field of Indian corn or rice, or a plantation of sugar-canes. They carry off as much as they are able, and they destroy ten times more than they bear away. manner of plundering is pretty much like that of the baboons, already mentioned, in a garden.

Their

The chief food of the monkey tribe is fruits, the buds of trees, or succulent roots and plants. They all, like man, seem fond of sweets; and, particularly, the pleasant juice of the palm-tree and the sugar-cane. With these the fertile regions in which they are bred seldom fail to supply them; but when it happens that these fail, or that more nourishing food becomes more agreeable, they eat insects and worms; and, sometimes, if near the coasts, descend to the sea-shore, where they eat oysters, crabs, and shell-fish. (g)

(g) HABITS OF MONKEYS.-Their manner of managing an oyster is extraordinary enough, but it is too well attested to fail of our assent. As the oysters in the tropical climates are generally larger than with us, the monkeys, when they go to the sea-side, pick up a stone and clap it between the opening shells: this prevents them from closing, and the monkey then eats the fish at his ease. They often also draw crabs from the water by putting their tail to the hole where

that animal takes refuge, and the crab fastening upon it, they withdraw it with a jerk, and thus pull their prey upon shore. This habit of laying traps for other animals makes them very cautious of being entraped themselves; and I am assured, by many persons of credit, that no snare, how nicely baited soever, will take the monkey of the West Indian Islands; for, having been accustomed to the cunning of man, it opposes its natural distrust to human artifice.