The Kenosha telegraph. [volume] (Kenosha, Wis.) 1860-1888, 1883-08-03
THE DIANA MONKEY.

touHu IL the lSlalu OF fernando TO. 1t
was known to European naturalists be-
fore the year 100, and it has always
been priced for its pretty fur and gay
temper. The goddess Diana has been
honored by being associated with this
monkey, on account of q crescent
shaped white band of long hair stretch
ing across the forehead (she being god
dess of the erescent-shaped moon). 1t
is about eighteen inches long when full
grown, the tail is longer than the body,
and the fur is very pretty. The cres-
cent of white hairs has dark edges, and
the top of the head is broad and dull
gray, spotted with green; the ears are
dark and the face also; the beard and
whiskers are white, and the first of these
projects like goats. AS another
monkey from the same region has q
white band across the forehead, the
Diana has been confounded with it.
Even F. Cuvier iumbled the Diana and
the 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
once saw one in its cage in the Zoolog-
ical Gardens pull its mate, small
| Sykes monkey, from the top to the bot
tom, by well-directed pull of its tail,
and the proceeding reminded one of a
very energetic mistress, whose servants
were inattentive, Juggling at bell-rope.
The pulleu was chattering and grimac-
| ing 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 bot
| tom, it scrambled about and rushed up
! to its little house again, as If it were
frequent and unwilling exercise. The
Diana also stole its companions food,
such as 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 voy-
| age from Western Africa, gives an in
teresting account of Diana monkey
| which was on board. "We made ac-
quaintance," she says, every suddenly,
and to me disagreeably, for l had not
till then conquered the foolish aversion
with which these animals always in
| spired me. 1t was a dead calm, the
wheel was dashed, and all save myself
! below, nothing around us but sea and
sky, and | had sheltered myself with q
book in corner protected from the
| equatorial sun. Suddenly, and without
noise, something leaped upon my shout
| ders, and the tail which eneircled my
throat convinced me that Mr.. Jack was
my assailant. My first impulse was to
beat him off, in which case [ should
probably have received some injury,
but fortunately l sat perfectly still, and
| twisting himself around, he brought his
deavoring to speak kindly to him, upon
which he grinned and chartered, seat
ed 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 / gave
him some biscuit which happened to be
beside me, and making a bed for him
with handkerchief, he settled himself
comfortably to sleep, and from that
moment we were sworn allies.
The amusement furnished to me and
when his mischievouspropensities would
otherwise have condemned him to per-
petual confinement. He was often
banished to an empty hen-coop, but as
this made no impression upon him,
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 in sight of the
panther, who always seemed most will
ing to devour him. On these occasions
] held him by the tail, in front of the
cage, but long before I reached it,
knowing where he was going, he pre-
tended 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
little to see whereabouts he might be,
but if he caught q glimpse of the cage,
it was instantly closed and he became
as stiff as before. He clambered into
the hammocks, stole the mems knives,
tools, handkerchiefs, and. even the
nightcaps off their heads, all of which
went into the sea. When biscuits were
toasting between the bars of the ca
boose, and the dried herbs boiling in the
tin mugs, he would take the former out
and carry it way, and take out the lat
ter and trail them along the planks; if
he burnt his hands, he desisted for
day or two, and he often RECALLED the
parrots with the biscuit, biting it in
small pieces, and feeding them with the
utmost gravity. At other times he
would knock the cages over, lick up
the water thus spilled, eat the Jumps of
sugar, pull the birds tails, and in this
manner he killed a beautiful green
pigeon belonging to the steward,
specimen of which I never saw in any
collection. For this he was fogged
and imprisoned three days; and half an
hour after he was let out |
met him scampering around the
deck with two blue-faced mon
KEYS on his back, which he often
carried about in this manner. When he
thought fit to ride, he would watch
behind 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
misdemeanors, however, were per-
formed to the injury of his fellow-mon-
KEYS, 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.
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 N.Y.
self, the helmsman and Jack. The
latter beckoned and coaxed a small
black monkey to him, then Selling him
by the neck, took brushful of white
paint, and deliberately covered him
with it in every direction. The helms
man and I burst into a laugh, upon
which Jack, dropping his victim, flew
up the rigging into the maintep, 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
turpentiae, and 10 loss was sustained.