QUADRUMANA.]

THE GIBBON-THE UNGKA APE.

the liberty of going to the same place alone every morning for his breakfast, which was given without hesitation; and thus he contracted a bill which the captain had to discharge. As a favourite he indulged the licence of his character, and would at any time make free with the blankets of a sailor's hammock, converting them into a snug bed for himself; nor would he give them up without a struggle for the right of property. He was active to an amazing degree, and his strength was very great; for, young as he was, it required more than the power of one man to force asunder his grasp his energies, however, were only exerted in play. There was but one person on board to whom he betrayed any antipathy; that was the butcher, for whom he entertained extreme terror, perhaps from having | frequently seen him kill the animals for provision. He would approach that man with timid caution, minutely examine his hands finger by finger, and then endeavour to gain some friendly notice; but, on the least suspicious movement, or the sight of the knife, he would fly for refuge to some of his especial protectors, among whom he distinguished the cook. On arriving at our shore, the poor Orang began to pine and sicken, and, if raised up to take food, uttered a plaintive feeble cry, expressive of a desire to be undisturbed. After lingering a few days, he expired. This animal is also among the splendid collection in the Museum of the Zoological Society.

The Orang-outan has been often confounded with other large species, and especially with one from Africa, the Chimpansé, (Simia niger, or Homo troglodytes of LINN.) sometimes called the African Orang. Of this animal in the adult age little or nothing is known. Two or three fine skeletons exist (one of which the author has personally inspected) which present anatomical differences between this and the Asiatic, or true Simia Satyrus.

A young Chimpansé died in the possession of Mr. Cross; and a young specimen is also preserved in the Museum of the Zoological Society. The hair is black; the ears large; the proportion of the limbs is more human-like, the arms being shorter, and the lower extremities larger, than in the Simia Satyrus: the thumb of the hind foot is also much more developed; and, with the assistance of a stick, the Chimpansé is, we believe, capable of walking for a short time in the upright position. On the whole, it is less decidedly formed as a climbing animal; but of its native manners we have only a few scanty accounts, mixed with much exaggeration.

Next on the scale to the orang succeed the GIBBONS, or Long-armed Apes, (Hylobates,) between which and the former there exist but few

points of difference. One species, at least, is furnished with a membranous sac communicating with the larynx: all want the tail and the cheek-pouches, which so peculiarly characterise the monkeys of the old world in general, from which they are further distinguished by their gravity and mildness of manners. Their native locality is confined to India and the large islands of the Indian Archipelago. As illustrative of the group, and as, at the same time, the rarest and most interesting, we select for our readers the

9

UNGKA APE of Sumatra. (Hylobates syndactylus, ILL.) (See Engraving, No. 2.) This singular animal inhabits the deep recesses of the woods which cover so large a portion of the| islands of India, and, as far as we know, has never been brought alive to our British shores. Specimens of its skin, however, were brought over in the collection of the late Sir Stamford Raffles. In the gravity of its manners, and the mildness of its temper, it much resembles the orang-outan ; but is considerably smaller in size, the total length of the adult, when standing upright, being about two feet four inches: its arms, however, have a disproportionate length to its stature, their span extending four feet. Except on the face and palms, the animal is entirely covered with stiff hair, of a beautiful jet black; the skin beneath, as well as on the face, being of the same colour. The legs have the characteristic shortness which we see in the orang; the feet, which are long and well adapted for grasping, have the first and second toes closely united by a membrane as far as the last joint. It is, however, a better walker than the orang, and on a flat surface can manage to proceed in the erect position; but the gait is unsteady, and the hands are frequently placed upon the ground to assist in progression; but should the hands be not thus engaged, the arms are elevated perpendicularly over the head, with the hands depending from the wrist, as if to preserve the balance of the body, or to be in readiness for seizing any object above and within reach. The eyes are dark hazel; the ears small; the air sac extends beneath the skin of the throat, from the chin to the breast-bone, but when uninflated is not manifest externally; it is distended when the animal is angry, at which times it utters a hollow barking noise, a tone apparently influenced by this apparatus. In one of the volumes of the Magazine of Natural History, an account is given of the habits and manners of an adult male of this species, which died on board the ship Sophia during her homeward passage, in 1830, and from which we learn that, although its favourite food was rice, plantains, carrots, sweetmeats, and onions, animal food was also eagerly accepted, fowls being especially preferred: "but a lizard having been caught on board, and placed before him, he took it immediately in his paw, and greedily devoured it." Spirits and wine he refused: he would, however, drink tea, coffee, and chocolate. His temper was mild, affectionate, and in general not easily ruffled; when pleased, he would utter a chirping note; when irritated, a hollow barking noise; but when frightened or angry, the loud guttural sounds of ra ra ra were frequently repeated. The only annoyance he occasioned on board by his tricks resulted from his fondness for ink: he would drain the inkstand, and suck the pens as often as an opportunity was presented to him. Would that all in the use to which they have applied this fluid had done as little mischief!

Cheerful and very fond of play, he preferred children to adults, and became particularly attached to a little Papuan girl, called Elau, a native of Erromango, one of the New Hebrides. They were often seen sitting near the capstan, the animal with its long paw round her neck, lovingly eating biscuit together. With this child

10

THE UNGKA APE-HABITS AND DISEASES OF MONKEYS.

he would romp about the deck in mimic combat, now attacking, now eluding pursuit, and displaying various antics of address and agility, without losing his good temper for a moment.

[QUADRUMANA.

tience towards a human being may be ridiculous in the ape, but in man, and a professed Christian, it assumes another character; it aggravates his sins, it interposes a darker cloud betwixt him and his Maker, lays an additional burden on his conscience, and renders his feelings of repentance more bitter. Let us then apply the lesson to ourselves, and, while we think we stand, take heed lest we fall.

There were several monkeys on board, with whom the Ungka was desirous of forming an acquaintance, no doubt in order to dissipate by their society the monotony of the voyage. The monkeys one and all would not, however, acknowledge him as belonging to their kindred, but rudely repelled his advances, indicating by their actions and chattering a decided hostility. Finding his endeavours ineffectual, and exasperated by their uncourteous conduct, he determined to repay them in their own coin; so, one day after a storm of monkey insult, he swung himself by a rope towards the nearest, and seized his long tail, upon which he hauled away, until the delin-siderable docility, and the mischief they commit quent extricated himself by his struggles. But having discovered this mode of retaliation, the Ungka persisted in it, and it often happened that he made his way up the rigging, dragging the monkey by the tail after him, and at the same time going through the whole scene with perfect gravity of countenance. At last, however, the monkeys united in so formidable a defence as to deter him from further aggression.

Impatient of confinement or solitude, he betrayed much anger whenever it became necessary to restrain his liberty; but his temper returned with his release. As if aware of the awkwardness of his mode of walking, and the difficulty he experienced of avoiding pursuit on the ground, his first object, in order to escape out of reach, was to seize a rope, and swing from his pursuer, or mount the rigging, where he would pass from rope to rope with astonishing quickness and agility, sometimes hanging by his hands, at others walking upright along the cords, keeping his balance true with his arms: he would also spring from one rope to another at a great distance, or drop from one aloft to another far below, seizing it in the fall with astonishing precision. Disappointment he could not endure; but, like human beings with sense and souls, was always best pleased to have his own way. When refused any thing which he coveted, he would display, says the writer of the narrative, "all the ebullitions of temper of a spoiled child, lie on the deck, throw his arms and legs in various directions, dash every thing about that might be within his reach, walk about and repeat the same scene as before, uttering his guttural notes of anger and offended pride.'

Is not this a picture from life? In this ridiculous scene how truly may we behold ourselves! and although we hold this temper, as displayed by the poor gibbon, to be a fit subject for laughter, yet how often, under losses and disappointments, do we act a similar part, rebelling, murmuring, and striving against the dispensations of our heavenly Father, turning with indignation and wrath from his chastising hand, and, instead of inquiring into the causes for which he is dealing with us, and entreating his assistance in self-examination, and his grace to enable us to turn from the evil of our ways, or the sin that besets us, hardening our hearts, and becoming intractable as a bullock unaccustomed to the yoke! A scene of impotent rebellion and impa

Leaving the orang-outan and gibbons, and yet confining ourselves to the continents of Asia and Africa, we come to a multitudinous family, the different species of which are comprehended under the general denomination of Monkeys, a race distinguished by adroitness, agility, restlessness, and curiosity. While young they possess conseems to arise from their irrepressible buoyancy of spirit and perpetual restlessness. Cunning, inquisitive, and full of grimace, they have ever been general favourites, notwithstanding their acknowledged capriciousness. The wandering Swiss boy and his monkey are sure to be surrounded by a group of motley gazers, whose laugh responds to every antic or grimace; and these animals in the cages of the menagerie are a never-failing attraction: their mutual squabbles, their arch manœuvres to outwit each other, their ludicrous efforts to attract especial notice, and gain the expected boon, affording an unceasing fund of entertainment. As age, however, or even maturity, advances, the character of the monkey undergoes a material alteration; its vivacity, its docility, and its restless curiosity vanish; its petulance is exchanged for sullen moroseness; its sprightly activity for passive indolence, alternating with fits of rage on the slightest provocation. At all times keenly sensible of injury, and long remembering the aggressor, its vindictive disposition seems now doubly aggravated; so that the individual that feeds it, and to whom it has become familiar, is unsafe if he trusts too much to his forbearance.

It is but seldom that the monkey attains to a period of advanced age, or even a moderate term of its natural duration, in our northern island: the keen winds, humid atmosphere, and sudden alternations of temperature, speedily inducing disease; so that an existence of two or three years is a fair average; and as the animals are usually brought over while very young, we are rarely permitted to trace them through the various stages of a life terminating at its natural period. It is true that, under circumstances peculiarly favourable, instances of unusual longevity from time to time occur; but, on the other hand, numbers drag on, for a few months only, a wretched and painful existence. The prevailing disease which depopulates the monkey-cages of the menagerie is pulmonary consumption. By far the greater number of those, which it has been our lot to dissect, have exhibited before death the symptoms of this fatal malady, so truly the scourge of our country; and, as subsequent examination has proved, morbid appearances in the lungs and trachea, similar to those observable in the human race who are swept by this disease out of time into eternity.

The natural term of life of the various races

THE PATAS-THE COLLARED, OR WHITE-EYELID MONKEY.

of monkeys in their native woods is not known with any certainty, nor what may be the diseases to which they are there subject.

The long-tailed monkeys of the older continents, to which the name of Guenons has been given, as a general appellation, have been subdivided into several smaller groups, distinguished by minor differences of little consequence. Their characters as a natural genus may be thus given: the muzzle slightly prominent, making the fa- | cial angle about 600; as a general rule, pouches are continued from the inside of the cheeks, which serve as magazines for food; the tail is generally long, but incapable of grasping, (a peculiarity restricted to some of the monkeys of America.) Some of the subordinate groups are distinguished by the last molar tooth below having five tubercles on its crown, others

To the genus Cercopithecus, characterized by a facial angle of 60°, cheek-pouches, and four tubercles on the last molar tooth below, belongs the PATAS, or RED MONKEY. (Cercopithecus it to confidence. ruber.) (See Engraving, No. 3.) This pretty

animal is a native of Senegal, and is rarely brought as a captive to England. In its temper it by no means offers a favourable specimen of

THE DIANA, MONA, AND GREEN MONKEYS-IDOLATRY.