A Natural History for Young People: Our Animal Friends in Their Native Homes: including mammals, birds and fishesHumphreys, Phebe Westcott
History
A Natural History for Young People: Our Animal Friends in Their Native Homes: including mammals, birds and fishes
Humphreys, Phebe Westcott
Natural history -- Juvenile literature
In its native country the Bonnet Monkey is almost as much venerated as
the Hoonuman in Bengal, and although it does great injury to fields and
gardens, the natives forbid any one to kill it. Or if this has been done
through mistake, they demand from the culprit enough money to pay for a
grand funeral.
When young, the Bonnet Monkey is very amusing as a pet, performing all
his tricks with a comical gravity. When two or three are kept together,
they are constantly hugging and nursing each other. When a Monkey of
this kind has no companions of its own species, it will make friends
with some other animal, and will often pet and hug a kitten with great
gravity and all the fondness of a child, at a great risk of choking it.
When full-grown, however, the behavior of the Bonnet Monkey changes, and
it becomes sullen and savage and spiteful.
THE AMERICAN MONKEYS.
There are several queer families of American Monkeys that make their
home in Brazil, Peru and on the banks of the Amazon and the Orinoco.
Further South, and along the western part of South America are found
many of the small Monkeys with long tails like those we usually see in
this country patiently following the street organs and making trade for
their Italian masters. The most of these are intelligent, affectionate
little fellows, and are more in demand for taming than the Monkeys of
Africa, or even those of the smaller families found in Asia and Europe.
Nearly all of the American Monkeys have long tails, and some find them a
great help in climbing; these are usually classed as the Prehensile
tailed Monkeys, and the Non-prehensile tailed Monkeys are those who do
not make any use of their long tails in grasping the limbs of the trees,
etc., in climbing. Very few of the American Monkeys have cheek-pouches
and their nostrils are placed on the sides of the nose, instead of
beneath it, giving them a very different appearance from the Apes,
Baboons, etc., found in Africa. The different kinds of American Monkeys
are usually divided into several families with the usual long hard Latin
names to distinguish them, but as these names mean simply, the Howlers,
the Spider Monkeys, the Weepers, etc., we will use only their English
names in describing them.
THE HOWLING MONKEYS.
The Monkeys belonging to the family of Howlers are remarkable on account
of the formation of their throat, which causes their voice to be hoarse
and loud and very disagreeable. Although they are scarcely two feet in
height, these Monkeys have the most powerful voice of any known animal.
When gathered in troops they make the great forests re-echo with their
tumult, which carries terror even to the bravest man when heard for the
first time. Travelers compare this noise to the creaking of a great
multitude of carts whose wheels and axle-trees need greasing; and with
all this creaking and grinding noise there is a sound like the rolling
of a drum.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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